IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER, NY.  M580 

(716)  872-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CiHM/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions 


Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


1980 


I 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


T 
t( 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checlced  below. 


n 


D 


D 


D 


n 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagde 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pelliculAe 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


Cartes  gdographiques  en  couieur 


Coloured  inic  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  biacic)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serrde  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intdrieure 

Blanic  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout^es 
lors  d'une  restanration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  filmdes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplimentaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm*  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mAthode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 


I     I    Coloured  pages/ 


D 
D 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checited  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  reduction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pagrs  endommagies 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restaur^es  et/ou  peiiicui^es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxe< 
Pages  dicolories,  tacheties  ou  piquies 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Qualit^  indgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materi{ 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppldmentaire 


I  I  Pages  damaged/ 

I  I  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

I  I  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

r^  Pages  detached/ 

I  I  Showthrough/ 

I  I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I  I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 


T 

P 
o 
f 


C 
b 
t 

s 
o 

f 

s 
o 


Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  film^es  A  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


T 
si 
T 
w 

N 
d 
ei 
b( 
rii 
re 
rr 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

>t 

12X 

16X 

20X 

24X 

28X 

32X 

The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

National  Library  of  Canada 


L'exemplaira  film*  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  ia 
g6n*rosit*  de: 

BibliothAque  nationaie  du  Canada 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  Iceeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  ^^>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Les  imeges  suivantes  ont  *t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettet*  de  i'exemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformit*  avec  les  condit'ons  du  contrat  de 
fiimage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprim*e  sont  film*s  en  commen^ant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  film*s  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derni*re  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derni*re  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN  ". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
film*s  *  des  taux  de  reduction  diff*rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich*,  il  est  film*  *  partir 
de  I'angle  sup*rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  *  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n*cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m*thode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

'"^  < 


•i<;.:\ 


1 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

'Tr^T^^^^^H 

V^_^|l 

MU'SKUX    Al     liAV 


h 


ON    SNOW-SHOES 


TO   THK 


BARREN    GROUNDS 


T 


TIVEXTY-EIGHT  HUNDRED  MILES  AFTER 
MUSK -OX  EX  AXD   WOOD- R I  SOX 


HV 


CASPAR    WHITNEY 

AUTIKJR     OF     "A     SI'OKTINC;     I'lLGRIMAGE " 


ILLUSTRATED 


N !  W     YORK 

HARPER   &    BROTHKRS    PUBLISH KRS 

1896 


111   ' 


140115 


h 


I- 


15V   TIIK   SAMK   AUTHOR. 

^,,^!;"«'"^''' ,!'"'<JKIM A(;k.  Hiding  ,„  , ,.,„„j, 
(...1  .  K,.winK,  .K,tl,i,l|.ciul.  ami  University  At  hi"  cs" 
S  ,»l  es  in  hnulisl,  Sport.  I'a.st  and  Present.  Cop  o'ly 
Illustrate.!.    Hv„,  Cloth,  Ornan.ental.  ♦;* -50. 

Published  hv  HARPKR  &  BROTHKR.S,  New  York. 


Copyright,  ,896,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 


W//  rtj;tits  rtsmcJ. 


\ 


, 


CONTENTS 

IMAFTHR 

1.  At  thk  Frontiek , 

II.  Okk  for  Lac  la  Biche ,- 

III.  New-Vear's  at  La  Biche 28 

IV.  Under  Wav  for  McMi'rkay 40 

V.  Hemino  Turns  Back.     .    . 

49 

VI.  FiTTixc  TOR  Arctic  Weather 37 

VI  r.  Blind  Leading  the  Blind 67 

VIII.  The  Northland  Indian  as  He  Is s- 

IX.  Dogs  and  Sledoes ,qq 

X.  From  Chipewvan  to  Fort  Smith 108 

XI,  Our  Wood-Bison  Hunt „, 

XII.  From  Fort  Smith  to  Great  Slave  Lake   .     .   136 
XHL  Makino  Ready  tor  the  Barren  Grounds.     .   149 

XIV.  Beniah's  Akrivai ^q, 

XV.  To  THE  Timber's  Edge ^c^ 

XVI.  In  the  ''Land  of  Little  Sticks" ,84 

XVH.  The  "Last  Wood" ,0, 

XVIII.  In  the  Bauren  Grounds 208 

XIX.  The  First  Musk-Ox 216 

XX.  The  Musk-Ox  at  Home     .  ,,, 

XXI.  Barren  Ground  Caribou 234 


^^^^ 


".^  ■  i*  ir--^.  . 


vi  CONTENTS 

IHAPTRR  IMOR 

XXII.  Ufaond  the  Arctic  Circle 345 

XXin.    Sri'ERSTITIONS    AND   TRADITIONS 262 

XXIV.    RKTURNINr.    TO   THE  "  LasT  WoOD  " 268 

XX \'.    Throioh    Arctic    Storms    ro    Great    Slave 

Lake 278 

XXVI.  Ui'-Stream   nv  Canoe  to  Chipewyan  ....  293 

XXVII.  From  Chipewyan  to  the  Railroad    ....  308 

Itinerary 323 


r 


I 


<I1K 

45 

62 

58 


t 


>8 
3 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


fAOR 

MU,SK-«)X    AT    IIAV /.■,,>„/,•,*;. 

HKAD-I'IKCK 

NoR^nw^>iTKKN      hkitish      amkkka.     siiowinc     HARKKN 

CKOUNDS   AND    MR.   WHITNKY's    KuIIK ^ 

CRKK    HUNTING-SHOE        ... 

■     ■     ' 4 

KOMONTON 

SARCKE    ItELI.E 

WINNII'E(;    DRAGOON o 

SARCEK   AND   S(JI;aW   "AI     HOMk" 

ONE    "MADE    heaver"  TOKKN        ...  ,j 

A  mediltne-man'.s  lodge  .     . 

•      •      .       .      .       12 

AN    ENCAMI'MENT    NEAR    CAU;aRY ,, 

ooim;  I'OR  AN  afternoon  drive  Ar  Edmonton      .     .     .     i- 

OFK    FOR    LAC    LA    lUCHE 

'7 

COPl'ER    KETTLE      .       .       . 

2 1 

IlLANKET   CLOTHING   OF   THE    LOWER    NORTHLAND   ....       24 
GOING    TO    LA    lilCHE    FOR    NEW-VEAR".S.      CREE    INDIAN.S    IN 

"jumper" ^ 

LAC    LA    lilCHE   ON    NEW-VEAR'.S  DAY 

IN   A    24°-HELO\V-ZERO   ATMOSPHERE ,. 

half-hreed  do(;  driver g 

edmonton  freighter 

cree  as  it  is  wriiten 

lumberman's  shoe   . 

4^ 

TRACKER  S    SHOE     . 

4« 

THE   INDIAN  S   S  TOREHOUSE   AND   LARDER 4, 


i 


Vlll  II  LUSTRATIONS 

NATIVE-MADE    MEN's   LEOGING   GARTERS 46 

WAPITI    HUNTER 48 

JOHN 50 

ALG()N(;i'.S   SHOE 52 

LUXURIOUS  cami'ing-(;round — woon  plentiful  .     .     •     .  53 

POLE    LODGE     IN    WHICH     MOOSE    AND    CARIHOU    SKINS    ARE 

SMOKED 58 

NORTHWEST   SOCK   OK   DUFFEI 59 

INDIAN    SLIPPERS 60 

A    woman's    PORCUPINE-QUILL   KELT 62 

NOONDAY    TEA 63 

DRVING    FISH — THE   STAPLE    FOOD   OF   MAN   AND    DOG  .       .      .  71 

MEETING   OF   TWO    DOG    HHIGADES 75 

MV   OUTFIT    FROM    McMURRAY   TO   CHIPEWVAN 79 

FORT  CHIPEWVAN 83 

TYPES   OF   NORTHLAND    INDIANS 86 

man's  SHOE 87 

CHIPEWVAN,    ON    ATHAHASCA    LAKE,    THE    LARGEST    POST     IN 

THE    NORTH   COUNTRY 89 

THE    NORTHLAND   SHOEMAKER       92 

SQUAW    LEGGING 94 

PAPPOOSE    IN    ITS    MOSS    BAG 95 

THE    HELLE   OF    THE   NORTH    COUNTRY 97 

ANCIENT   KNIFE   WITH   HEAVER-TOOTH   BLADE 99 

THE      CARIOLE.        DR.     MACKAY's     HOUSE      AND     OFFICE      IN 

BACKGROUND 1 03 

HAND-WARMERS   OF   THE   NORTH 1 05 

THE    "RABBIT    CAMP  " 1 09 

CHIPEWVAN    TRIPPING-SHOE 1 13 

WOOD-BISON    HEAD    BROUGHT   OUT    BY    THE  AUTHOR      .       .       .  II5 

LOUCHEUX   SHOE I  16 

CUTTING   A    WAY  THROUGH    THE   SMALL    FIRS II9 

WAR-BONNET 123 

RABUIT    SNARE 1 25 

"JEREMI    WAS   TOO   QUICK    WITH    HIS   GUN  " 127 

ONE    OF   THE    OLD    FLINT-LOCKS 133 


\ 


f 


ILLUSTRATIONS  Jx 

woman's  shoe.     .     .     .  '*''o 

'3° 

GREETINGS    i:.V  ROL'TE     .  ,., 

i4> 

" SPELLING  "  THE   DOGS  ...  ,  ,  _ 

SEAUTEAUX   SHOE  ... 

'47 

FORT   RESOLUTION,    GREAT   SLAVE   LAKE j^j 

"SOUR  grapes"'    .     .     . 

155 

P.ENIAH      ....  . 

1^5 

HENIAHS    LODGE    IN    THE    WOODS ,_. 

DOG-WHIP.      .       . 

177 

THE     INDIANS     TOOL-KIT  —  AXE,    CROOKED     KNIFE     (HOME- 
MADE), AND    KILE     ... 

179 

CUTTING   LODGE-POLES    ON    THE    EDGE   OF   THE  TIMBER    .      .182 

MAP    SHOWING    THE   AUTHOr's    ROUTE   THROUGH     THE    BAR- 
REN   GROUNDS       .       .  o 
185 

A    PIPE    IN    THE    LAND    OF    LITTLE    STICKS ,35^ 

INDIAN    LEGGING    . 

191 

OUR    LAST    FEAST  . 

193 

RACING   SHOE     . 

195 

FEEDING    THE    DOGS     .       . 

197 

MEDICINE-MAN's    NECKLACE 

202 

THE    "LAST   WOOD"— LAYING     IN    A    SI  PPLY    OF    FOOD     FOR 

THE    BARRENS       . 

203 

CARIBOU    IN    SIGHT 

21  I 

ONE   OF   THE    FIRST   STEEL    KNIVES  TRADED  TO   INDIANS  .       .    220 

MUSK-OX  .       .      . 

22c 

MUSK-OX    HOOF — FRONT   VIEW  o 

220 

MUSK-OX    HOOF — BOTTOM  VIEW 

TWO-VEAR-OLD    MUSK-OX    BULL      ......  " 

BARREN    GROUND    CARIBOU 

235 

HEAD   OF  WOODLAND    CARIBOU 

CARIBOU   HOOF,  SHOWING  POSITION   OF  ACCESSORY  HOOF  .  238 

CARIBOU    HOOF,  SHOWING   CONCAVE   AND    SHARP    EDGES     .  230 

UNGAVA   woman's    SHOE 

240 

UNGAVA   SHOE   

CO- YUKON  SHOE      .  "'^l 

246 

MOCCASINS     . 

^47 


X  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACE 

WILLOW    llASKET    USED    BY    INDIANS    HEFORE    HUDSON's    BAY 

COMPANY   TOOK    IN   COPPER    KETTLES 249 

ESKIMO   SHOE 252 

MUSK-OX   HUNTING-KNIFE    AND    BARREN   GROUND   AXK       .      .  254 

OUR   LODGE    IN    THE    LAND   OF   LITTLE   STICKS 255 

ESKIMO    KNIFE 26 1 

CREE-INDIAN    ORNAMENTS 262 

OLD   COPPER    KNIVES 264 

DOGS    BAYING   MUSK-CALF 27 1 

MUSK-OX-HORN   SPOON 275 

THE   USUAL    INDIAN    MARKSMANSHIP 279 

MAKING   TEA    IN   THE    LAND   OF    LITTLE   STICKS 283 

NATIVE  "  snow-(;lasses  " 286 

CROSSING   GREAT   SLAVE,  MAY   4TH,    1 895 295 

SNOW-SHOES     WORN      BY     THE     AUTHOR     IN     THE      DARREN 

GROUNDS 299 

DEADFALL   FOR    BEAR 302 

DIAGRAM    OF    BEAR-TRAP       ...     - 303 

MY      LUGGAGE      AW    ROUTE      FROM       FORT     S.MMH      KJ      IHE 

LAWUINC 304 

UNDER   SAIL 306 

A    HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY    FUR    "  PACK  " 308 

HUDSON'S      BAY     COMPANY     .STEAMER      AND      FLA  I  BOATS      1\ 

WINTER-gUARTERS   AT    CHIPEWYAX 309 

GRIZZLY-CLAW    NECKLACE 314 

TRADING     IN    THE     HUDSON'S     BAY    COMPANY    "OLD   STORE  " 

AT   EDMONTON 315 

WHEN   THE   DAYS   ARE   LONG 319 

TAIL-PIECE 324 


N  S    BAY 


liAKRKV 


KJ      IHK 


ATS      I X 


STOKE 


249 

261 
262 
264 
271 

275 

283 
286 

295 

299 

302 

304 
306 
308 

309 
314 

315 

3'9 
324 


.MMM 


vAiUVv'S 


AT  TIIK   I-K(J\TIER 

Far  to  the  northwest,  beginning  ten  days'  journey  be- 
yond Great  Slave  Lake  and  running  down  to  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  with  Hudson's  Bay  as  its  eastern  and  Great  Bear 
Lake  and  the  Coppermine  River  as  its  western  boundaries, 
■lies  the  most  complete  and  extended  desolation  on  earth. 
That  is  the  Barren  Grounds,  the  land  whose  approximate 
350,CXX)  square  miles  (for  its  exact  area  is  unknown)  is  the 
dwelling-place  of  no  man,  and  whose  storms  and  sterility 
in  its  most  northerly  part  are  withstood  the  year  round  by 
no  living  creature  save  the  musk-ox.  There  is  the  timber- 
less  waste  where  ice-laden  blasts  blow  with  hurricane  and 
ceaseless  fury  that  bid  your  blood  stand  still  and  }our 
breath  come  and  go  in  painful  stinging  gasps;  where  rock 
and  lichen  and  moss  replace  soil  and  trees  and  herbage ; 
and  where  death  by  starvation  or  freezing  dogs  the  foot- 
steps of  the  explorer. 

There  are  two  seasons  and  only  two  methods  of  pene- 
trating this  great  lone  land  of  the  North — by  canoe,  when 
the  watercourses  are  free  of  ice,  and  on  snow-shoes  during 
the  frozen  period,  which  occupies  nearly  nine  of  the  year's 
twelve  months.     The  deadly  cold  of  winter,  and  greater 


w 


ON    SNOW-SIIOES   TO   TlIK   BAKKKX    GROUNDS 


:ii 


'I 


risk  of  starvation,  make  the  canoe  trip  the  more  usual  one 
with  the  few  Indians  that  hunt  the  musk-ox.  Hut,  be- 
cause of  the  many  portages,  you  cannot  travel  so  rapidly 
by  canoe  as  on  snow-shoes,  nor  go  so  far  north  for  the 
best  of  the  musk-ox  hunting,  nor  see  the  liarrcn  Grounds 
at  their  best,  or  worst,  as  you  care  to  consider  it.  That 
is  why  I  chose  to  make  the  attempt  on  snow-shoes. 

And  why  I  turned  my  face  towards  a  country  which 
seemed  to  hold  naught  for  the  traveller  but  hardship? 
Well — certainly  to  hunt  musk-ox,  the  most  inaccessible 
game  in  the  world,  and  to  look  upon  his  habitat  at  the 
period  of  its  uttermost  desolation  ;  certainly  also  to  study 
the  several  tribes  of  Indians  through  which  I  must  pass  on 
my  way  to  the  liarrcn  Grounds;  and  I'/i  route  to  hunt  wood- 
bison,  undoubtedly  now  become  the  rarest  game  in  the 
world.  Possibly,  too,  I  went  that  I  might  for  a  time  escape 
the  hum  and  routine  sordidness  of  the  city,  and  breathe  air 
which  was  not  surcharged  with  convention  and  civilization. 

To  him  who  has  scented  the  trackless  wilds,  and  whose 
blood  has  gone  the  pace  of  its  perils  and  freedom,  there 
comes,  every  now  and  again,  an  irresistible  impulse  to  fly 
from  electric  lights,  railroads,  and  directories ;  to  travel  on 
his  feet  instead  of  being  jerked  along  in  a  cable-car;  to  find 
his  way  with  the  aid  of  a  compass  and  the  North  Star,  in- 
stead of  by  belettered  lamp-posts.  At  such  a  time  and  in 
such  a  mood  the  untamed  spirit  chafes  under  the  pettiness 
of  worldly  strife,  and  turns  to  the  home  of  the  red  man. 

'Tis  a  strange  fascination,  but  strong  as  strange,  this 
playing  at  monarch  of  all  you  survey ;  this  demand  upon 
your  skill  and  endurance  and  perseverance  in  a  continuous 
game  of  hazard  with  life  as  the  stake ;  this  calling  home 
where  you  throw  down  your  blankets.  The  mind  reaches 
out  to  the  freedom  and  the  openness  of  a  life  that  rises 
superior  to  the  great   machine  called  civilization,  which 


5^j. 


AT    THE    KKONTIEK  3 

moulds  US  all  into  one  proper  and  narrow  and  colorless 
uhole.  How  little  the  fenced  divisions  of  ordinary  every- 
day life  seem  when  you  have  returned  I  How  petty  one 
feels  on  rejoining  the  hysterical  mob  which  hurries  forth 
each  morning  from  dwelling  to  office,  and  gathers  again 
each  night  from  office  to  dwelling. 

At  all  events,  whatever  the  incentive,  Arthur  Heming, 
the  artist,  and  I  found  ourselves,  December  27,  1894,  at 


NOKTHWESTKRN    IIRITISII    AMKKICA,  SlIoWINC,    HARKKN    GROUNDS   AM) 
MR.    WHII'NKY's    route 


Edmonton,  the  end  of  the  railroad.  We  had  travelled 
on  the  Canadian  Pacific  vid  Winnipeg  and  Calgarj',  and 
through  the  land  of  the  Crees,  Blackfeet,  and  Sarcee  Ind- 
ians, without  seeing  anything  so  picturesque  in  the  wa\" 
of   costuming   a-    the  Winnipeg   dragoon    and  a  Sarcee 


ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO   Till-:    UAKKKN    GROUNDS 


'■      1 


young  woman  resplendent  in  beads  and  glittering  tin- 
sel. I  really  ought  to  include  the  mounted  policeman, 
for  he  too  has  a  uniform  which,  with  scarlet  jacket 
and  yellow-striped  breeches,  is  deserv- 
ing of  greater  attei'tion.  But  the 
mounted  policeman  has  that  which  is 
far  worthier  of  comment  than  uni- 
form, lie  has  the  reputation  of  being 
the  most  effective  arm  of  the  Cana- 
dian Interior  Department.  And  he 
lives  up  to  it.  These  "  Riders  of  the 
Plains,"  as  they  are  called,  patrol  a 
country  so  large  that  the  entire  force 
may  lose  itself  within  its  dt)mains 
and  still  be  miles  upon  miles  apart. 
Yet  this  comparative  handful  main- 
tains order  among  the  lawless  white 
men  and  stays  discontentment  among 
the  restless  red  men  in  a  manner 
so  satisfactory  and  so  unostenta- 
tious as  to  make  some  of  our  United 
States  experiences  read  like  those  of 
a  t\To. 

The  success  of  the  Northwest  Mount- 
ed Police  may  be  accredited  to  its  system  of  distribution 
throughout  the  guarded  territory.  Unlike  our  army,  it 
does  not  mass  its  force  in  forts  adjacent  to  Indian  res- 
ervations. Posts  it  has,  where  recruiting  and  drilling  are 
constantly  going  forward,  but  the  main  body  of  men  is 
scattered  in  twos  and  threes  over  the  country,  riding 
hither  and  thither — a  watch  that  goes  on  relief  after  re- 
lief. This  is  the  secret  of  their  success,  and  a  system  it 
would  well  repay  our  own  government  to  adopt.  The 
police  arc  ever  on  the  spot  to  advise  or  to  arrest.     They 


CREF.   niMINCSHOK, 
6  feet  long 


■iXf.. 


-  c 

c    2 
S    y. 


AT  Till-:  KuoMir.k 


do  not  w.iit  for  action  until  an  outbreak  has  occurred  ; 
they  arc  always  in  action.  They  constitute  a  most  val- 
uable peace-assuring  corps,  and  I  wish  wc  hatl  one  like  it. 
Although  Edmonton  has  but  a  few  hundred  population, 
it  is  doubly  honored — by  an  electric-light  plant  which 
illuminates  the  town  when  not  otherwise  engaged,  and 
by  a  patience-trying  railway  company  that  sends  two 
trains  a  week  to  Calgary  and  gives  them  twelve  hours  in 
which  to  make  two  hundred  miles.  Hut  no  one,  except 
luckless  travellers,  at  Edmonton  cares  a  rap  about  inter- 
mittent electric  lights,  or  railroads  that  run  passengers 
on  a  freight  schedule,  so  long  as  the)'  do  not  affect  the 
fur  trade.  Fur  was  originally  the  reason  of  Edmonton's 
existence,  and  continues  the  prin- 
cipal excuse  for  its  being.  In  the 
last  three  years  the  settlement  of 
a  strip  of  land  south  and  of  one 
to  the  north  has  created  a  farm- 
ing or  ranching  contingent,  but  to 
date  of  my  visit  canned  goods  ap- 
peared to  remain  the  chief  article 
of  sustenance,  as  furs  were  cer- 
tainly the  main  topic  of  conversa- 
tion. Edmonton  may  in  my  time 
develop  the  oasis  upon  which  it  is 
built,  between  the  arid  plains  im- 
mediately to  the  south  and  the 
great  lone  land  to  the  north,  into 
something  notably  agricultural ; 
but  for  many  years  the  town  will 
be,  as  it  is  to-day,  the  gateway  of 
the  wellnigh  boundless  fur-produc- 
ing country  to  the  north,  and  the  outlet  for  the  number- 
less" packs  "gathered  by  the  great  Hudson's  Hay  Company. 


^\'lh 


SARCEE   l;i-.l.l.E 


ON    SNOW-SIIOKS    TO   THK    HAKRl  \    (MiOUNDS 


Ml 


And  wli.'it  a  company  is  this! — with  the  power  of  a  kin{; 
and  the  consideration  of  a  partner.  A  monopoly  that 
docs  not  monopoH/e,  it  stands  alone  a  unique  fij,nire  in 
the  commercial  history  of  the  world.     Given  its  charter 

by  the  impecunious  Charles  II.  in 
1670,  the  pioneers  of  this  "Governor 
and  Company  of  Adventurers  of  Eng- 
land Trading  into  Hudson's  Hay" 
sailed  for  the  southern  shores  of  St. 
James  Bay,  where  they  set  up  their 
first  post  and  took  possession  of  the 
new  country  in  the  name  of  Prince 
Rupert.  Here  they  found  a  rival 
French  company,  with  a  previous 
charter  granted  by  Louis  XIII.,  and 
an  equally  keen  sense  of  Indian  bar- 
ter, so  that  for  many  years  there  was 
more  fighting  than  trading.  Through 
all  the  long  weariness  of  the  French 
and  f)thcr  continental  wars,  the  Hud- 
son's Hay  Company  lived  a  varied  ex- 
istence of  prosperity  and  reverses, 
but  when  Wolfe,  on  the  Heights 
of  Abraham,  crushed  the  power  of  France  in  Canada, 
the  French  company  entered  upon  a  decline  that  finally 
ended  in  dissolution.  In  their  stead  came  numbers 
of  Englishmen,  pushing  their  way  westward,  eager  to 
trade  for  the  furs  of  which  they  had  heard  so  much  and 
seen  so  little.  Thus  many  trading-posts  came  into  being, 
and  eventually  (about  1780)  combined  to  form  the  North- 
west Fur  Company,  the  longest- lived  and  most  deter- 
mined rival  that  ever  disputed  trade  with  the  Hudson's 
Hay  Company.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  go  deeply  into 
historical   research,  but  a  brief  sketch  of  this  company. 


WINNIPEO   DRAGOON 


I     3' 


AT    lin;    I'KOMIKK  <> 

and  lii)\v  it  came  in  the  land,  is  necessary  t()  a  proper  un- 
derstantling  of  the  country  intowliich  I  hope  to  carry  the 
reader, 

The  Hudson's  liay  Company  had  not  reached  out  to  a 
very  jjreat  extent,  content  witli  the  fur  |2;.ithered  by  their 
lialf-dozen  "factories."  of  which  York  and  Churchill  were 


^^f^lP^' 


,  j^-.mit^' 


SAKCKK    AM)    S()rA\V        Al     lld.MK 


the  earliest  and  most  important,  and  the  only  means  of 
communication  with  which  was  by  the  ships  that  col- 
lected the  furs  and  distributed  the  supplies  annually  de- 
spatched from  Knjrland.  But  the  Northwest  Company 
brought  a  new  spirit  into  the  country;  they  pressed  for 
trade   with   such   avidity  and   determination   as  to   carry 


■J 


I 

.1 


1 


1 


10 


ON    SNOWSHOKS    H)    rilK    IIAKKKN    (iUOUNDS 


them  into  parts  hitherto  unknown,  and  cause  bloodshed 
whenever  they  met  the  agents  of  their  rivals.  It  was  the 
{Treed  for  trade,  indeed,  that  quickened  the  steps  of  the 
first  adventurers  into  the  silent,  fro/en  land  of  the  North. 
Samuel  Ijearne,  the  first  white  man  to  pass  beyond  Great 
Slave  Lake,  made  his  trip  in  1769  by  order  of  the  Hud- 
son Hay  Company,  and  in  search  of  copper -mines.  It 
was  in  quest  of  trade  for  the  Northwest  Company  that 
Alexander  Mackenzie  (1789)  penetrated  to  the  Arctic 
Ocean  down  the  river  which  bears  his  name.  I  have 
never  been  able  to  appreciate  the  justice  in  the  command 
that  knighted  Mackenzie  and  ignored  1  learnc.  The  hit- 
ter's trip  was  really  a  most  remarkable  one — overland  a 
great  part,  and  always  the  more  difficult.  Mackenzie's 
trip,  as  compared  with  it,  reads  like  a  summer  day's  pleas- 
uring. 

For  forty  years  these  two  companies  traded  with  the 
Indians,  and  fought  one  another  at  every  opportunity, 
meanwhile  pushing  their  posts  farther  and  farther  into 
the  interior;  but  in  1821  a  compromise  was  effected,  an 
amalgamation  resulted,  and  the  Hudson's  Hay  Comp.ni)- 
reigned  supreme.  And  so  it  has  continued  to  reign  ever 
since,  for  though  it  retired  from  the  government  of  Ru- 
pert's Land  in  1870,  and  handed  it  over  to  the  Dominion 
of  Canada  for  ^'300,000  sterling,  yet,  so  far  as  the  countrj- 
is  concerned  of  which  lulmonton  is  the  distributing-point, 
the  Hudson's  Hay  Company  is  as  much  the  ruler  in  fact  as 
ever  it  was  in  law.  Hut  this  |)articular  section,  even  though 
so  extensive,  is  only  one  of  the  many  in  which,  from  end  to 
end  of  Hritish  North  America,  this  company  counts  alto- 
gether something  like  two  hundred  trading- posts.  Nor 
are  furs  its  sole  commodity:  from  Montreal  to  Victoria 
along  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railroad,  and  at  the  centres  of 
the  Indian  countries  in  which  they  trade,  may  be  seen  the 


I 


Al    nil':    KKONIIKK 


It 


"stores"  of  tlic  Hudson's  li.iy  Coinpaii)'.  Its  /'j.txw.ooo 
sterliii};  capital  stock-  is  owned  in  London,  l)ut  the  busi- 
ness of  the  vast  corporation  is  operated  from  \\'innipe<4. 
with  "Commissioner"  C".  C  Chipman  as  its  executive 
head. 

ICxcept  that  goods  re  now  much  cheaper  and  furs 
much  dearer,  the  fur-trading  business  of  this  company  is 
coiuUicted  at  its  inland  posts  on  much  the  same  lines  that 
pre  ailed  when  it  was  first  established.  The  custom  of 
barter  still  exists,  and  those  who  have  experienced  the 
dillficulties  of  exchanging  with  a  peddler  one  article  for 
another  will  be  interested  in  knowing  how  this  was  met 
by  the  Hudson's  Hay  Coinpanj'.  The  original  principal 
article  of  trade  for  which  the  Governor  anil  Company  of 
.Adventurers  first  sent  out  their  ships  to  Hudson's  Hay 
was  the  beaver-skin. 
( )ther  furs  were  soon 
traded  in,  and  it  be- 
came necessary  to 
have  a  standard  of 
trade.  The  "  made 
beaver" — i.i.,  a  full- 
grown  dressed  bea- 
ver-skin— was  taken 
as  the  standard,  and 
every  article  in  goods 

or  furs  priced  upon  it.  Thus,  an  Indian  having  brought  in 
a  parcel  of  furs  was  told  that  the)'  amounted  to  so  many 
"made  beaver."  With  this  amount,  as  it  were,  to  his 
credit,  he  went  into  the  trading-store  and  was  told  the 
prices  of  the  articles  he  wished  to  possess,  also  in  "  made 
beaver."  Soon  it  was  found  more  convenient  to  have  a 
token  which  should  represent  the  "  made  beaver."  At 
first  these  w  ere  made  of  pieces  of  -,  -ood  with  notches  to 


(INK    "MAIIK    liKAVIK        loKKN 
Formerly  issiud  liy  the  MiKlson's  U.iy  t'nmp.iiu 


12  ON    SNOW-SllOES   TO   Till:    IJAKREN    GROUNDS 


represent  the  value,  but  were  soon  replaced  with  a  metal 
coin.  Quills  and  bullets  were  also  sometimes  used  for 
this  purpose.  In  the  far  North,  and  in  fact  at  many 
points  not  very  far  from  the  line  of  railway,  the  Indian 
still  gets  his  advances  to  enable  him  to  go  hunting,  and 


f     I 


l^^^riw^^;}- . 


A  medicine-man's  I.ODGF. 


pays  back  his  debts  in  the  spring-time  in  "  made  beaver," 
or  "skins,"  as  the  medium  of  exchange  is  technically 
known.  Though  the  march  of  civilization  and  consequent 
competition  have  made  it  more  difificult  to  deal  with  the 
Indians,  the  trade  in  many  respects  is  conducted  as  it  was 
over  two  hundred  years  ago. 

One  surprise  at  least  awaited  me  at  Rdmonton.  I  had 
expected — I  will  be  more  honest,  and  say  I  had  hoped — 
Edmonton  would  prove  to  be  a  bit  untamed  and  pict- 
uresque. The  realization  of  being  on  this  Canadian 
frontier  raised  memories  of  other  frontier  days  across  the 


AT    nil-;    KROXTIKR 


«3 


line,  when  Colorado  ,ind  New  Mexico  were  wild  and  wool- 
ly, and  the  atmosphere  was  continuously  shattered  by 
cowboy  whoops  and  leaden  pellets. 

Edmonton,  however,  never  passed  through  such  a  period 
of  exhilaration.  It  had  its  days  of  waywardness,  but  its 
diversions  were  exceedingly  commonplace.  A  few  years 
ago  it  was  almost  surrounded  by  the  battling-ground  of 
the  Crees  and  Blackfeet,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  har- 
bored red  and  white  renegades.  There  was  little  law,  and 
that  little  was  not  respected  ;  Indians  out  in  the  countrj' 
killed  off  their  foes  from  ambush,  and  in  town  renegades 
revealed  their  coward's  blood  and  lack  of  originality  by 
stabbing  their  enemies  in  the  back.  There  were  none  of 
those  blood-stirring  nights  in  town  such  as  we  used  to 
have  on  our  own  frontier;  no  duels  on  the  main  thorough- 
fare between  two  "prominent  citizens,"  with  the  remain- 
ing population  standing  by  to  see  fair  play ;  no  cowb())'s 
to  ride  into  saloons  and  shoot  out  the  lights ;  no  marks- 


'\V-'  .'•Ar^-'^ 


AN    r.NfAMpMFNT    NK.AR    CAI.IIAUV 


men  so  expert  as  to  knock  the  neck  off  the  whiskey-bottle 
in  the  bartender's  hands,  and  no  bartenders  who  under 
such  conditions  did  not  turn  a  hair. 

There  was  murdering  in  plenty  in  and  around  Edmon- 
ton in  the  old  days,  but  no  man  maintained  a  private 
burying-ground.     This  is  not  a  distinction  without  a  dif- 


14 


ON   SNOWSIIOKS   TO   THE   BARKEN    GROUNDS 


fercncc,  as  those  with  frontier  experience  will  bear  mc 
out. 

I  found  Edmonton  settled  into  a  steady-going  business 
community,  with  many  hotels  and  few  saloons,  and  the 
most  exciting  sight  I  beheld  during  my  two-nights-and-a- 
day  stop  was  a  freighter  wrestling  with  himself  after  a 
bout  with  "40  proof." 

Indeed,  when  I  set  out,  the  morning  after  my  arrival,  to 
get  all  in  readiness  in  the  one  day  that  we  might  make 
the  start  for  Lac  La  liiche  on  the  second,  I  doubted  if  the 
citizens  had  ever  heard  of  the  word  "  hustle."  I  had  been 
delayed  in  leaving  New  York,  delayed  in  having  to  stop 
over  at  Winnipeg  to  get  letters  of  credit  from  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  and,  now  that  I  had  finally  reached  the  fron- 
tier, I  was  determined  to  be  delayed  no  longer  if  effort  of 
mine  would  provide  against  it.  First  of  all,  the  shops  did 
not  open  until  nine  o'clock,  and  I,  forgetful  of  being  in  a 
latitude  where  the  sun  in  winter  does  not  show  himself 
before  that  hour,  found  myself  chasing  about  the  streets  in 
the  dawn  that,  before  coming  out  of  doors,  I  fancied  due 
to  a  clouded  sky.  At  last  the  shops  and  the  sun  openeil 
for  the  day,  and  I  succeeded  in  getting  every  one  on  the 
move.  Still,  we  should  not  have  been  able  to  get  awa>- 
next  day,  I  am  sure,  but  for  the  consideration  of  the  Hud- 
son's Hay  Company  factor,  Mr.  Livock,  and  his  chief  aid, 
Mr.  Kinnaird.who  were  kind  enough  to  neglect  their  bus- 
iness to  attend  to  mine.  The  one  happy  stroke  we  had 
made  was  in  choosing  the  Queen's  for  our  hotel ;  it  was 
quite  haphazard,  but  very  lucky. 

Here  I  found  the  best  board  to  which  I  had  ever  sat 
down  in  a  frontier  town,  and  host  and  hostess  who  did 
more  for  me  during  my  sojourn  than  the  bill  showed  or  I 
could  repay. 


-a- 


.>lf 


is- 


as 


II 


OFF    KOK    \.M     l.\    I'.ICHE 


Ti'  such  signs  were  trustworthy,  I  should  have  been 
much  ehitcd  over  the  auspicious  weather  that  ruled  on  the 
day  of  our  departure  for  La  liiche.  Truly  it  was  a  beauti- 
ful morning,  with  the   temperature  some  twenty  degrees 


■^i/*-^rtt<tj.' 


|>11'    roR    I.AC    I.A    IllCIIK 


below  zero,  and  a  glorious  sun,  which  touched  the  ice-cov- 
ered bushes  and  trees  with  sparkling  brilliancy.  When 
we  started  on  our  175-mile  drive,  all  Queen's  Hotel,  and, 
I  judged,  half  the  town,  turned  out  to  bid  us  godspeed. 


i8 


ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO   Till':   IJAKREN    GROUNDS 


\Vc  had  two  good  horses  and  a  stroii^j  box-sIci[^h,  and 
our  load  was  not  heavy,  so  that  I  expected  to  make  good 
time.  I  had  taken  only  enough  provisions  from  Edmon- 
ton to  last  us  to  La  Hichc.  There  was  much  I  could  have 
taken,  of  course,  in  the  w.iy  of  canned  vegetables,  meats, 
etc..  that  might  have  saved  me  from  many  a  meal  of 
the  oftentimes  unpalatable  stuff  which  I  secured  from 
])ost  to  post.  liut  I  was  going  into  the  country  for  a 
purpose,  and  not  for  a  picnic.  I  knew  pcrfcctl)-  well  I 
could  not  carry  in  a  sufficient  supply  to  last  until  I  had 
covered  the  900  miles  that  lay  between  me  and  Great 
Slave  Lake,  because  of  the  impossibility  of  securing 
enough  dogs  and  sledges  to  freight  it,  and  I  knew  even 
if  1  could  eat  as  a  civilized  man  until  I  reached  that  point, 
I  should  be  obliged,  when  I  began  my  journey  into  the 
Barren  Grounds,  to  abandon  all  hope  of  eating  well,  or 
ev(;n  plentifully,  and  to  live  or  starve  as  do  the  Indians  on 
their  annual  hunt  in  that  region.  Besides,  the  greatest 
essential  to  the  success  of  my  trip  was  speed.  I  had  set 
out  to  make  my  bison-hunt,  to  get  into  the  Barren 
Grounds  for  musk-oxen,  and  get  back  again  to  Great 
Slave  Lake  on  snow-shoes — an  undertaking  that  had 
been  never  before  attempted,  and  which  every  one  as- 
sured me  I  could  not  carry  out.  It  meant  snow-shoeing 
nearly  1900  miles,  and  left  no  time  for  leisurely  travel- 
ling ;  but  I  was  determined  to  accomplish  what  1  had 
planned  if  it  lay  within  human  possibilities ;  and  thus  it 
was  that  we  took  no  unnecessary  freight  from  Edmonton, 
for  civilized  food  is  so  considered  in  that  great  North 
land.  Tobacco  was  the  only  article  of  which  I  took  a 
greater  supply;  but  tobacco  is  not  considered  freight;  it 
i^  always  a  solace,  and  becomes  on  occasion  a  stimulant 
when  there  is  no  meat,  and  an  irresistible  lure  to  facilitate 
i'tovcourse  with  the  Indians. 


!  ;i 


OIK    lOk    I.AC    I, A    HICllK 


>'> 


t;  it 

Lilant 

itatc 


It  was  well  wc  had  a  stout  sleigh,  for,  much  to  my  as- 
tonishment, the  snow  seemed  little  more  than  a  foot  deep 
anywhere,  while  in  the  road  it  had  been  worn  down  b\' 
much  travel,  and  the  rocks  were  numerous  and  aggressive. 
We  made  twenty-two  miles  by  noon  of  the  first  day,  and 
took  our  dinner  at  Fort  Saskatchewan,  the  most  northerly 
post  of  the  Northwest  Mounted  Police.  Up  to  this 
point  of  the  day's  journey  the  road  had  been  plain,  and 
the  country  not  unpleasant  to  the  eye.  In  fact,  in  some 
parts  it  is  rather  pretty,  of  a  general  rolling  character, 
fringed  with  small  timber,  mostly  of  the  poplar  varietx', 
though  pine  is  fairly  abundant.  It  looks  like,  and  is,  in 
truth,  a  grazing  country  more  especially,  though  the 
horses  and  cattle  I  saw  en  route  were  rather  poor — a  con- 
dition to  be  probably  expected  in  a  land  v.'here  cvcrj- 
thing  is  new  and  the  settlers  lead  a  hand-to-mouth  exist- 
ence, as  all  settlers  do.  An  Edmonton  enthusiast — I 
think  he  must  have  had  property  for  sale — assured  me 
with  great  gusto  that  the  land  around  that  town  would 
yield  from  35  to  75  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  and  from 
100  to  200  bushels  of  oats,  the  latter  weighing  42  pounds 
to  the  bushel;  the  lumber,  however,  he  acknowledged 
"  wasn't  much  to  brag  on." 

The  one  well-defined  road  we  had  been  following:  all 
day  broadened  out  towards  sunset  into  a  valley,  showing 
in  turn  several  depressions  in  the  snow  —  here  much 
deeper — which  we  assumed  to  be  roads.  No  one  at 
Saskatchewan  was  able  to  direct  us  intelligently,  and  not 
a  soul  had  been  seen  since  leaving  there  from  whom  we 
could  ask  our  way.  Grierson,  who  was  driving  us,  and 
who  is  one  of  the  Queen's  Motel  proprietors,  had  never 
before  been  over  the  road,  but  his  bump  of  direction  was 
well  placed  and  abnormally  developed.  People  in  this 
country  ilo  not  seem  to  consider  knowledge  of  the  roads 


20 


ON    .SN()\VSIIOi:s    10    rilK    UAUUliN    GROUNDS 


necessary  to  reach  their  destination.  They  start  off  oi^ 
the  one  main  andahnost  only  trail,  which  they  follow  to  its 
end,  and  then  they  continue  on  in  the  direction  of  their 
objective  point.  Roads  are  few  and  far  between  in  this 
section,  and  disappear  altogether  when  you  get  one  hun- 
dred miles  north  of  Edmonton.  The  alleged  road  to  La 
Hichc,  which  bears  to  the  east  of  north,  is  the  longest, 
and  the  end  ;  beyond,  all  travel  is  by  dogs  in  winter  and 
canoe  in  summer.  Grierson  knew  that  Heaver  Lake 
Creek  was  the  point  we  were  booked  to  reach  that  night 
in  order  to  make  La  Biche  in  three  days'  travel  from 
Ldmonton,  and  he  was  sure  it  lay  to  the  northeast.  So 
we  pegged  on,  until  finally,  after  chasing  several  lights 
that  turned  out  to  be  the  wrong  ones,  and  once  nothing 
less  lofty  than  a  planet,  which  in  this  far  North  hung 
near  the  horizon,  we  found  the  log  cabin  of  Beaver  Lake 
Creek's  most  distinguished  settler. 

I  say  distinguished,  because  his  was  the  only  cabin  in 
those  parts  which  boasted  of  two  rooms  and  a  second 
story — an  extravagance,  he  informed  us,  he  had  indulged 
in  with  the  idea  of  one  day,  when  the  section  in  which  he 
had  located  became  more  populous,  putting  a  stock  of 
merchandise  into  the  "other  room,"  and  utilizing  the  top 
story  as  a  dormitory  for  travellers. 

Having  refreshed  myself  in  about  one  and  a  half  inches 
of  ice-water,  I  was  confronted  by  this  black -lettered 
legend  on  the  cabin  door:  "Bad  luck  attend  the  man 
that  wipes  his  nose  on  the  towel " — which  convinced  me 
our  host  was  a  gentleman  of  discernment,  with  a  delicate 
humor  for  inciting  reform  in  his  guests  without  offending 
their  previously  conceived  sense  of  propriety. 

We  left  the  pioneer  of  Beaver  Lake  Creek's  "400"  next 
morning  before  the  sun  was  up,  and  by  one  o'clock  had 
gone  thirty-eight  miles  to  Victoria,  on  the  .Saskatchewan 


1 

•■fj 


OKI"    FOR    l-AC    I. A    r.lCIIK 


at 


ending 


next 

tk  had 
lewan 


M 


River.  It  is  the  site  of  a  Hudson's  I^iy  Company  tradinjj- 
post,  and  the  end  of  the  tele<j[raph  line.  Once  past  here, 
the  most  rapid  means  of  communication  is  the  "express," 
as  the  Indian  runner  is  called.  To  me,  as  sportsman,  the 
most  interesting  feature  of  Vic- 
toria was  the  fact  of  its  being 
about  the  northern  limit  of  wa- 
piti in  this  particular  part  of  the 
continent,  h'ormerly,  in  the  days 
of  the  bison,  wapiti  were  numer- 
ous, particularly  near  the  Battle 
River,  but,  although  they  have 
not  entirely  disappeared,  they  are 
not  now  plentiful,  and  are  to  be 
had  only  by  the  most  skilful 
hunters.  Because  of  this  the  Ind- 
ians living  near  Victoria  resort 
to  every  device  for  a  shot,  but 
with  indifferent  success. 

This  was  our  longest  day's  drive,  for  we  had  made  very 
close  to  eighty  miles  by  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  when  we 
camped,  and  the  road,  or  rather  the  multiplicity  of  roads, 
of  the  afternoon  proved  even  more  perplexing  than  on 
the  day  previous.  Our  direction  lay  along  the  border  of 
a  Cree  Indian  reservation,  and  was  cross -sectioned  at 
times  with  trails,  or  at  least  what  in  the  snow  had  the 
appearance  of  trails,  running  to  the  four  points  of  the 
compass.  We  knew  we  had  but  one  point  of  the  compass 
to  follow — of  that  much,  at  least,  we  were  sure,  and  pro- 
portionately thankful — but  that  point  seemed  to  be  such  a 
broad  one  we  were  constantly  at  a  loss  for  our  precise  bear- 
ings. I  should  be  very  much  relieved  to  know  positivelj- 
if  there  was  indeed  any  trail  taking  a  northeasterly  course 
that  escaped  us,  and  shall  always  regret  I  did  not  return 


COl'I'KK    KKlll.K 

I  which  the  .iiithor  brewed  his  tua 
diiriiii;  the  entire  tri|) 


«!■ 


22  ON    hNOW-SllOtlS   TO   niK    IJAKKKN    CiKOLNDS 

by  that  route  in  the  spring  t)n  my  way  back  to  the  rail- 
road, and  when  the  snow  had  disappeared,  just  to  satisfy 
my  curiosity. 

We  were  making  for  the  White-h'ish  Lake  Indian  reser- 
vation, where  we  had  been  told  we  could  find  feed  and  a 
covering  for  the  horses,  and  a  school-master  who  would 
give  us  a  place  to  throw  down  our  blankets,  and  the  best 
of  his  larder.  We  were  not  concerned  for  ourselves,  for 
we  carried  enough  to  provide  a  substantial  meal,  and,  I 
think,  all  three  of  us  would  have  preferred  sleeping  in  the 
open  to  the  average  cabin.  But  the  mercury  had  fallen  a 
great  many  degrees  since  leaving  Edmonton,  a  cutting 
wind  was  blowing,  and  our  horses  were  pretty  well  worn, 
with  still  forty-five  miles  to  go  the  next  day  before  reach- 
ing La  Biche.  This  was  why  we  pushed  on,  hoping  every 
turn  would  show  the  light  in  the  distance  that  meant  rest 
for  us  and  an  extra  feed  for  our  team.  We  finally  reached 
some  straggling  cabins  of  the  reservation,  but  should  have 
been  searching  for  that  light  yet  if  we  had  not  roused  an 
Indian  from  his  slumbers,  whom  Grierson,by  some  start- 
ling Cree  vocalization,  the  like  of  which  I  never  heard  be- 
fore nor  since,  at  length  made  understand  what  we  were 
after.  Then  that  drowsy  child  of  nature  led  the  way  to  a 
school-master,  but  not  to  the  school-master  we  had  been 
seeking,  whose  house  was  a  few  miles  farther  on,  we  sub- 
sequently learned. 

The  school-master  we  found  was  a  study  in  filth.  lie 
lived  like  a  dog  in  a  wretched  kennel,  and  talked  like  a 
cockney  Englishman  ;  indeed,  he  confided  to  me  he  had 
come  from  London,  and  was  living  there  chiefly  to  learn 
the  Cree  language,  that  he  might  later  preach  "  Jesus  to 
the  wayward  heathen."  Meanwhile  he  was  educating  him. 
This  cockney's  one  idea  of  education  seemed  summed  up 
in  the  single  word  coercion.     If  tlic  Indians  gathered  for 


oil     lOU    I  AC    I.A    IIKlll'; 


-•3 


He 

ike  a 
e  had 

learn 
sus  to 

him. 

d  up 

d  for 


the  dances  of  their  tribe,  he  scattered  them  ;  if  they  played 
tile  games  of  their  cliildhood,  he  stopped  them  ;  if  they 
asked  for  reasons,  he  told  them  it  was  the  devil  in  them 
that  they  exploited  and  which  he  wished  to  cast  out.  A 
logical  way,  forsooth,  of  educating  the  ignorant !  And 
this  is  why  we  find  the  broken-spirited  Indian,  who  realizes 
he  is  the  creature  of  an  all-powerful  master  whose  ways  he 
cannot  understand,  so  often  "  converted,"  but  only  in  indi- 
vidual cases  educated  and  civilized.  He  is  "  converted  " 
because  it  requires  only  outward  acquiescence,  and  he  finds 
his  material  life  made  pleasanter  thereby.  He  is  willing 
to  change  his  "  Great  Spirit  "  for  the  white  man's  "  Great 
.Spirit  "  when  a  few  beads  or  an  extra  ration  make  the 
trade  inviting.  Ikit  he  cannot  be  educated  without  being 
first  civilized,  and  he  cannot  be  civilized  because  in  most 
cases  the  white  man  does  not  know  how,  or  does  not  find 
it  to  his  interest,  to  make  the  attempt  in  a  rational  way. 
At  present  he  distrusts,  and  sees  only  that  he  is  being 
"  civilized  "  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  remembers  the 
white  man  in  his  successive  nMcs  of  welcomed  guest. 
greedy  hunter,  settler,  and  exterminator.  I  am  not  de;>l- 
ing  in  heroics,  and  every  one  knows  that  the  savage  must 
disappear  before  the  civilized  man  ;  but  if  we  are  to  at- 
tempt the  civilization  of  those  that  remain  let  us  first  en- 
deavor to  gain  their  confidence,  and  then  follow  it  up  bv 
methods  which  they  can  grasp. 

It  is  not  to  be  done  in  one  season,  nor  in  two;  the  civil- 
ized red  man  cannot  be  brought  forth  full-fledged,  as  from 
a  patent  incubator ;  he  can  be  evolved  only  after  long  pe- 
riods of  gradual  and  natural  development:  yet  we  expect 
by  mere  word  of  moutli  to  make  him  forsake  the  senti- 
ments of  a  lifetime,  of  generations  of  lifetimes.  At  the 
same  time  he  should  realize  there  is  a  law  in  the  land 
which  punishes  and  jjrotects  him  as  thoroughly  as  it  does 


V  ! 


r 


24 


ON    SNOW-SIIOKS   TO   TlIK    MAKUKN    liROl  NDS 


the  white  man.  He  sliould  not  be  allowed  to  escape  with 
no  severer  penaltj*  for  furtive  war-path  festi\als  than  that 
of  bcinj;  merely  herded  back  to  his  reservation,  when 
white  men  equally  puilty  would  be  han^rcd  or  shot.  The 
surest  way  of  civilizing  the  Indian  is  through  his  children, 
and  possibly  their  children  in  turn  will  cease  to  remember 
that  once  their  ancestors  roamed  over  the  country  hunt- 
ing and  learning  the  lessons  of  their  common  mother 
Nature,  instead  of  living  fenced  in  on  a  reservation, 
ploughing,  and  studying  the  precepts  of  the  white  man. 
We  left  the  Indian  reformer  early  the   next  morning, 

after  a  broken  night's  rest  on 
a  dirtier  floor  than,  I  think,  I 
ever  saw  in  an  I  vidian  lodge. 
We  must  have  proved  a  bless- 

iil    '^         Twbk.  '"f^  *°  ^^^'^^  fellow,  for  we  put 

money  in  his  purse,  and  such  a 
meal  in  his  stomach  as  I  fancy 
he  had  not  had  for  many  a 
day.  The  weather  had  grown 
colder,  and  one  of  our  horses 
gone  lame,  but  our  big  fur 
coats  to  keep  out  the  one,  and 
mustang  liniment  to  relieve 
the  other,  put  us  in  travelling 
shape.  We  had  broken  our 
sleigh,  and  patched  it  up  again 
before  we  camped  for  our 
noonday  meal  in  a  squall  of 
snow,  but  we  had  covered  by 
that  time  a  good  half  of  the  distance  which  the  previous 
night  separated  us  from  our  destination.  As  we  neared 
La  Biche  we  renewed  our  troubles  over  diverging  roads, 
but  this  time  our  direction  was  so  accurate  that  the  delay 


lil-ANKET   CLOTHING   OF  Till. 
LOWER    NORTHLAND 


DS 


rcn, 


ipc  with 
lian  that 
n,  when 
t.  The 
hiltl 

Ti  ember 
y  huiit- 
mothcr 
■vation, 
man. 
orning, 
rest  on 
hink.  r 

bl 


vc 


ess- 
put 


uch 


in 


cy 


my  a 

irown 

lorses 

J    fur 

,  and 

:lieve 

filing 

our 
iffain 

our 
II  of 
1  by 
ious 
ared 
ads, 
ela\- 


:,    y. 


OKI-    FOR   J, AC    J. A    lilCHE 


^7 


was  inconsiderable.     Moreover,  there  were  others  abroad  • 
or  the  morrow  was  Neu- Year's,  and  Indians  a..d  half-' 
breeds  were  making  their  way  to  the  company  post  to 
partake  of  the  feast  which  is  provided  for  them  annually. 
They  came  from  either  side,  and  fell  into  the  now  well- 
beaten  track  we  were  all  travelling;  men  and  women,  old 
and  young,  some  walking,  but  the  majority  riding  in   a 
sort  of  box  set  upon  runners,  locally  known  as  a  "jump- 
er,   and  drawn  by  a  nondescript  kind  of  beast  which  we 
discovered  upon  close  scrutiny  to  be  an  undersized,  un- 
derfed horse,  but  that   more  nearly  resembled  an   over- 
grown jack-rabbit. 

And  thus  with  the  dying  sun  of  the  last  day  of  1804 
we  made  our  cntnr  into  La  liiche  with  the  gathering,  of 
the  clans.  '' 


f 


III 


NEW-VEAR  S  AT   LA   HICHE 


f 


■  I   ' 
I 


V 


'i 


I  DO  not  believe  I  was  ever  in  a  more  advanced  state 
of  exhilaration  than  on  first  viewing  the  unsightly  cabins 
of  the  La  Biche  post.  Farther  along  on  my  trip  I  felt  a 
deeper  thankfulness,  when  hope  had  almost  fled,  and  mind 
and  body  were  too  jaded  to  rejoice,  but  now  I  was  as  a 
boy  given  an  unexpected  holiday,  who  wanted  to  shout 
and  throw  his  cap  into  the  air ;  for  here  at  last  I  beheld 
the  actual  frontier,  and  the  real  starting-point  of  mj- 
journey.  Not  that  the  trip  from  Edmonton  had  been  so 
long  or  so  hard,  for,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  pleasant 
and  easy,  but  it  was  the  realization  of  being  on  the  scene 
of  action,  so  to  say.  When  one  has  planned  an  adventure, 
and  discussed  ways  and  means,  there  is  a  satisfaction  in 
reaching  the  base  of  operations ;  and  when  one's  friends 
have  tried  to  dissuade  and  natives  to  intimidate  you,  there 
is  added  to  satisfaction  that  other  feeling,  which  puts  you 
on  edge,  fires  your  blood,  and  makes  you  keen  to  toe  the 
mark  and  be  off.  It  was  a  blessing  I  arrived  in  such  hu- 
mor, for  it  was  sorely  tried  at  La  Biche  during  the  three 
vexing  days  we  were  compelled  to  stop  there.  I  had  a 
premonition  we  were  going  to  run  against  a  snag  when  I 
saw  Gairdner.  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  ofificer  in 
charge,  saunter  out  of  his  cabin  to  greet  us ;  and  when  he 
asked  if  we  were  not  ahead  of  time,  in  a  tone  that  implied 
he  would  have  been  better  pleased  had  we  been  overdue,  I 


NEW-YEARS   AT    LA    mcill-: 


29 


felt  convinced  we  were  "  in  for  it."  We  were  a  day  in 
advance  of  our  schedule,  bavins^  taken  but  three  instead 
of  four  days  from  Edmonton,  but  as  an  "express"  had 
been  sent  Gairdner  two  weeks  before  to  warn  him  of  our 
arrival,  and  as  the  preparations  were  only  the  making  of 
two  pairs  of  snow-shoes  and  the  engaging  of  two  trains  of 
dogs  and  drivers,  I  could  not  see  that  our  coming  was  ill- 
timed. 

I  think,  nevertheless,  he  was  glad  to  see  us  (especially 
Grierson,  who  had  brought  along  a  flask),  and  he  certain- 
ly shared  the  best  of  his  house  with  us.  He  told  us  we 
had  come  at  the  best  time  of  the  year  to  see  the  Indians; 
that  they  were  always  given  a  feast  and  a  dance  on  New- 
Year's,  and  that  some  of  them,  hearing  of  our  arrival, 
would  probably  drop  in  that  night  to  dance  a  little  for  us. 
Well,  they  did  "  drop  in,"  and  they  did  dance,  though  not 
a  "  little."  How  those  creatures  danced,  and  what  an  at- 
mosphere and  a  racket  they  created  in  that  house !  They 
began  to  arrive  shortly  after  we  had  finished  supper,  shak- 
ing hands  with  us  solemnly  on  entrance,  and  eying  us 
stealthily  after  seating  themselves  in  rows  against  the 
walls.  Then  one  of  them  produced  a  fiddle,  and  from  the 
time  the  first  measure  was  sounded  there  was  no  cessation 
until  about  two  o'clock  the  following  morning. 

For  a  while  the  exhibition  was  rather  interesting,  though 
never  very  novel.  The  common  dancing  of  Indians  ap- 
pears to  be  about  the  same  the  country  over;  there  is  but 
one  type,  though  it  may  assume  different  expressions,  ac- 
cording to  prejudice  or  locality.  Either  they  shuffle 
around  in  a  circle,  or  they  hop  from  one  foot  to  the  other 
in  lines  or  separately,  or  they  do  all  three,  with  more  or 
less  vigor  and  with  or  without  costuming.  At  La  Hiche 
the  dancing  is  not  of  the  Indian  type,  but  rather  of  the 
kind  one  sees  in  the  half-breed  camps  of  Canada,  and  con- 


r 


3° 


(JN    SNOW-SHOES    TO    THE    BAKREX    GROUNDS 


!= 


sists  of  a  spec'cs  of  jigs  and  reels  gone  through  at  a  pace 
that  makes  you  dizzj-  only  to  watch.  They  have  their 
dances  where  several  couples  perform,  but  the  most  pop- 
ular seemed  that  in  which  separate  couples  engaged — as 
many  as  the  floor  would  accommodate.  These  face  one 
another,  and  the  man  enters  upon  a  vigorous  exploita- 
tion of  the  double-shuffle,  which  he  varies  with  "  pigeon- 
wings"  and  other  terpsichorean  flourishes,  always  making 
the  greatest  noise  of  which  he  is  capable.  Noise  and  en- 
durance, I  was  given  to  understand,  are  the  two  requisites 
to  good  dancing;  but  men  and  women  of  course  wear 
moccasins,  and  only  on  occasions  have  board  floors  to 
dance  on.  It  was  my  luck  to  happen  along  at  one  of 
those  "  occasions,"  and  to  be  further  tortured  by  a  half- 
breed  company  servant,  whose  great  pride  was  a  pair  of 
white  man's  heavy  boots,  which  he  never  wore  except 
when  threading  the  giddy  maze. 

Half-breeds  —  French  and  Cree  —  constitute  the  larger 
share  of  population  at  La  Biche,  if  I  may  class  as  its  pop- 
ulation those  scattered  over  the  immediately  surrounding 
country,  and  where  the  settlement  consists  of  just  three 
cabins  besides  those  belonging  to  the  Hudson's  Hay  Com- 
pany. Rut,  after  all,  the  I^^ench  blood  reveals  itself  chiefly 
in  a  few  Christian  names  and  in  the  more  fanciful  coloring 
and  use  of  some  articles  of  wear,  for  tliere  is  little  French 
spoken,  the  children  of  mixed  parentage  almost  invariably 
adopting  the  mother-tongue,  Cree,  which  the  ingenuity  of 
Catholic  priests  has  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  written  lan- 
guage. There  are  not  more  than  one  hundred  Crees  who 
come  into  La  Biche,  which  is  the  most  northerly  post 
where  treat}'  money  is  given,  and  the}'  are  not  increasing 
nor  even  thriving  to  any  very  great  extent.  The  annuity 
of  about  five  dollars  a  head  is  not  sufficient  to  support 
and  just  enough  to  interrupt  keen  hunting:  the}-  plant  a 


<n,?v#»i||f    I.-- «v— ^ -i.-^Tj 


-.^^ 


y 


NEW-VEAk'S   AT    LA    BICIIK 


33 


few  potatoes,  which  grow  here  fairly  well,  but  are  making 
no  progress  towards  self-support,  as  are  those  of  the  same 
nation  more  to  the  south. 

After  what  I  had  seen  the  night  before  of  the  prelimi- 
naries to  the  annual  feast-day,  I  did  not  expect  on  New- 
Year's  to  be  able  to  make  any  preparations  for  our  further 
progress.  Long  before  we  had  turned  out  of  our  blankets 
the  house  was  literally  packed  with  Indians,  and  by  noon- 
time the  fiddle  was  going  and  the  dancers  liad  entire  pos- 
session of  the  floor.  I  doubt  if  I  ever  saw,  outside  of  some 
of  the  Chinese  dens  in  San  Francisco,  so  many  crowded 
into  the  same  space.  I  lacked  the  heart  to  talk  business 
with  Gairdner,  who,  I  divined  from  some  of  his  remarks, 
had  not  accomplished,  in  the  way  of  making  ready  our  dog 
brigade,  all  I  had  expected  of  him.  I  simply  pitied  him 
for  the  unpleasant  and  malodorous  fulness  of  his  home, 
and  I  pitied  his  half-breed  wife  and  her  daughters,  who 
were  kept  cooking  for  and  feeding  half-starved  Indians 
from  early  morn  until  late  into  the  night.  Heming  took 
his  pencil  and  scratch  pad  and  I  my  camera,  and  wc  went 
out  to  see  the  Ncw-Year's-day  arrivals  and  the  dogs  and 
the  Indians. 

In  front  of  the  fort's  stockade  were  gossiping  groups 
that  grew  with  each  fresh  arrival,  while  scattered  all  about 
the  enclosure,  just  where  their  drivers  had  left  them, 
were  the  dog  trains  of  the  Indians  who  had  come  to  fill 
Gairdner's  house  and  eat  the  Hudson's  Hay  Company 
meat.  There  was  no  housing  nor  feasting  for  these 
dogs;  in  a  24° -below -zero  atmosphere  they  stretched 
out  in  the  snow  and  waited,  without  covering  and  with- 
out food.  The  Indians  with  their  blanket  coats  or  ca- 
potes, and  the  dogs  and  sledges  and  "jumpers,"  made  a 
picturesque  whole  against  the  unbroken  background  of 
snow,  but,  like  all  Indian  pictures,  its  attractiveness  faded 
3 


i     ^ 


34 


ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO   THE   HAKKEN   GROUNDS 


away  on  close  inspection  that  discovered  the  dirt  of 
the  man,  and  the  scraggy,  half-starved  condition  of  the 
beast.  These  people  had  never  before  seen  a  camera, 
and  many  of  my  plates   show  them   scurrying  away  or 


IN    A    24°-BELO\V-ZERO    ATMOSPHERE 


turning  their  backs.  It  was  only  after  the  most  elaborate 
descriptions  to  Gairdner,  who  instructed  the  interpreter, 
who  explained  to  the  Indians,  that  we  induced  one  or  two 
"  types  "  to  sit  in  our  presence  while  Heming  sketched 
them.  They  thought  we  were  making  "  medicine  "against 
them,  but  were  won  over  by  Heming  drawing  the  moose 
and  caribou,  while  they  watched  the  animals  they  knew  so 
well  develop  under  his  pencil. 

When  we  returned  to  the  house  the  dance  was  still  on ; 
it  was  always  "on  "  during  the  first  thirty-six  hours  of  our 
stay  at  La  Biche.  Formerly  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
officers  merely  "  received  "  on  New- Year's  day  ;  but  as  the 


)S 


Ni:\V-YEAKS   AT    l.A    lilCIlK 


35. 


dirt   of 

1  of  the 

camera, 

away  or 


laborate 
irpreter, 

or  two 
Iketchcd 

against 
t  moose 

new  so 

itill  on ; 

of  our 
)mpany 

as  the 


Indians  have  a  custom  between  sexes  of  kissintj  on  mcct- 
inir.  and  as  it  did  not  become  an  impartial  officer  to  dis- 
tinguish  in  this  respect  between  old  women  and  young, 
unattractive  and  attractive,  the  feast  was  substituted ;  so 
now  the  women  are  fed  and  danced  instead  of  being  kissed. 

I  hope  that  New -Year's  night  will  not  be  recorded 
against  me.  Those  Indians  danced  until  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  they  danced  to  my  utter  demoralization. 
We  sat  around  and  watched  the  "  gymnastics  "  and  pre- 
tended we  enjoyed  them  until  about  one  o'clock ;  then  we 
retired.  We  all  three  slept  in  Gairdner's  office,  a  tiny 
apartment  separated  from  the  main  room  by  a  thin  board 
partition,  of  which  a  good  quarter  section  in  the  centre 
was  removed  to  admit  of  the  two  rooms  sharing  a  single 
stove.  There  was  a  piece  of  loosened  sheet-iron  tacked 
to  the  partition  to  protect  it  from  the  heat,  and  my  head 
was  against  that  partition,  and  our  blankets  on  the  same 
floor  upon  which  those  Indians  sprinted  and  jumped  and 
shuffled  ! 

New- Year's  past  and  the  fiddle  hung  up,  I  entered  upon 
the  business  of  our  getting  under  way  for  Fort  McMurray, 
the  next  Hudson's  Bay  post  to  the  north,  and  then  indeed 
did  the  trouble  begin.  First  of  all,  Gairdner  earnestly 
assured  me  I  could  not  make  the  trip  I  contemplated,  that 
I  could  not  get  into  the  Barren  Grounds  at  this  season, 
and  would  risk  my  life  if  I  did,  and  could  not  get  Indians 
to  accompany  me  if  I  would.  Then,  after  finding  me  un- 
dismayed by  the  lugubrious  prospect,  he  informed  me  that 
he  had  not  been  able  to  get  matters  ready,  nor  could  he 
say  how  soon  we  might  start.  He  had  first  engaged  two 
men,  but  both  backed  out,  one  because  he  could  not  get 
four  dogs  together,  and  the  other  because  he  had  no  house 
to  put  his  wife  in  during  his  absence.  Finally  he  had  se- 
cured the  services  of  a  half-breed  called  "  Shot,"  who,  he 


3^^ 


ON    SXOW-SIIOES   TO  THE   UAKREN    GKOUNDS 


.i 


said,  was  the  best  man  in  the  country,  trustworthy  and  a 
good  traveller,  and  had  spoken  to  another  lialf-brced,  who 
was  just  then  struggling  to  make  up  his  mind.    Added  to 


HALFBKKEI)    DOG    DKIVF.R 


this  pleasing  intelligence,  the  snow-shoes  were  being  made 
by  an  Indian  who  lived  fifteen  miles  away,  and  from  whom 
nothing  had  been  heard.  I  thought  we  were  at  least  sure 
of  "  Shot " ;  but  the  next  day  he  came  to  us  with  a  large 
story  of  his  worth,  of  the  sacrifices  he  would  make  by 
going  with  us,  and  finally  ended  by  refusing  to  budge  un- 
less we  doubled  the  wages  upon  which  he  and  Gairdner 
had  agreed. 

For  the  remainder  of  this  and  the  next  day  life  was  a 
burden  to  me.  Gairdner  was  absolutely  of  no  use,  as  he 
could  have  been  by  standing  between  us  and  the  Indians 
in  our  negotiations.    I  was  obliged  to  take  matters  into  my 


NEW-YEARS    AT    LA    niCIli; 


37 


own  hands,  and  deal  with  the  wrangling  Indians  through 
an  interpreter.  I  finally  secured  "Shot"  on  a  compro- 
mise, intending  to  take  no  other  man,  but  drive  the  sec- 
ond train  of  dogs  ourselves.  Then  I  had  a  time  getting 
another  four  dogs  and  sledge.  First  the  owners  would 
not  hire  a  train  without  their  own  engagement  (this  after 
I  had  spent  two  days  trying  to  induce  them  to  go  with 
me  !),  then  no  one  man  who  had  a  complete  train  could 
be  found.  At  last  I  got  two  dogs  from  one  Indian,  and 
one  dog  each  from  two  different  Indians.  Meanwhile  I 
was  waiting  for  "  Shot,"  who  was  to  come  prepared  for 
the  start  so  soon  as  the  snow-shoes  were  finished,  and 
being  worried  thin  by 
the  dog-owners'  repeat- 
ed visits  and  their  clam- 
ors for  a  new  deal ;  hav- 
ing hired  the  dogs  and 
sledge,  they  wanted  me 
to  pay  an  additional  fee  n  |p 
for  harness  and  wrapper,  •■ 
or,  if  not,  to  give  them 
a  little  tea  or  tobacco, 
or  moccasins.  I  was  in 
constant  dread  lest  their 
fickleness  should  eventu- 
ally deprive  me  of  a  train, 
and  I  cursed  "Shot" 
roundly  for  his  delay. 
Meanwhile,  too,  Fleming 
and  I  were  conditioning 
ourselves  by  some  run- 
ning every  afternoon,  and  had  settled  to  the  conviction 
that  the  hardest  part  of  our  trip  appeared  to  be  getting 
started. 


EDMONTON   FREtdllTER 


f 


:  ( 

S     1 


1   ( 


I 

i 

! 

i 


3« 


ON    SNOW  SHOF.S   TO    Till:    UAUREN    GROUNDS 


At  last,  on  Friday,  January  4tli,tlie  impatiently  awaited 
"  Shot  "  arrived,  with  his  dogs  and  sledge  in  good  condi- 
tion, but  the  sledge  of  the  second  train  broken  so  badly 
as  to  necessitate  its  repair.  "  Shot "  had  also  brought 
with  him  a  young  Crcc  Indian  called  John,  whom  he  rec- 
ommended as  a  good  runner;  and  afterwards,  when  Hem- 
inj,  fell  ill,  and  John  and  I  pushed  on  into  the  country 
alone,  I  forgave  "  Shot  "  much  of  what  I  had  harbored 
against  him  because  of  his  bringing  me  that  Cree.  It  was 
noon  before  the  sledge  had  been  mended  and  we  were 
ready  to  begin  packing  up  for  the  start.  Our  personal 
luggage  consisted  of  a  change  of  shirts  and  heavy  under- 
wear, three  silk  pocket-handkerchiefs,  an  extra  pair  of 
Irish  frieze  trousers,  a  heavy  woollen  sweater,  stout  gloves 
to  wear  inside  the  native-made  mittens,  two  pairs  of  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  four-point  blankets,  a  rabbit-skin  robe 
(of  native  manufacture,  and  very  warm),  "  stroud  "  leggings, 
a  caribou-skin  capote  lined  with  blanket,  a  knitted  hood,  a 
worsted  tuque,  "duffel  "  socks,  snow-glasses,  several  pairs 
of  moccasins,  hunting -knife,  strong  clasp-knife,  a  45.90 
Winchester,  half-magazine,  and  150  cartridges,  pills,  and 
mustang  liniment ;  I  had,  besides,  a  compass,  my  camera 
(in  a  strong  zinc  box),  note-books,  and  some  iodoform,  an- 
tiseptic lozenges,  and  sterilized  gauze  bandages,  in  case 
amputation  because  of  freezing  became  necessary.  Our 
provisions  included  bacon,  tea,  flour,  and  a  few  pounds  of 
potatoes  Mrs.  Gairdnerwas  kind  enough  to  boil  and  mash 
and  freeze  into  a  pan  for  us ;  our  one  luxury — or  rather 
mine,  for  Heming  does  not  smoke — was  tobacco.  In  all 
we  had  just  357  pounds,  which  I  was  careful  to  determine, 
for  I  was  sure  "  Shot  "  would  be  grumbling  about  the  load, 
and  swear  we  had  600  pounds  on  each  sledge,  and  I  wished 
to  be  prepared  with  figures,  as  I  had  said  we  should  go  light 
purposely  to  make  good  time.     We  took  only  one  night's 


Ni:\V  VKAK's   AT    I.A   UICHK 


39 


fish  for  the  dogs  (dogs  being  fed  fish  in  tliis  ccuntr)-  in 
place  of  meat),  because  Gairdner  told  us  wc  should  find 
plenty  at  Mart  Lake,  which  we  would  reach  the  next 
night.  Finally  by  three  o'clock  the  sledges  were  packed, 
"  Shot  ••  and  John  had  bade  tender  farewells  to  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  about  the  post,  Gairdner  and  Grierson 
had  wished  us  the  best  of  luck,  and  we  began  our  journey 


TRANSLATION 

"Lac  la  Bichk. /.»//.  2,  1895. 

"  My  name  is  Julicn.atuI  I  have  liad 
plenty  of  misery  up  to  to-day. 

"  I  do  not  see  well. 

"  I  have  always  sore  eyes. 

"  I  am  very  much  troiil)u(l  when 

I  jjct  no  fur. 

"  I    gain    my    liv  inj.    by    luinlinj; 
in  the  woods. 

"  I     have    gained     nothing    this 
winter. 
"  I  am  well  to-day." 


CKF.K   AS    IT    IS    WRriPKN 
rA  letter  i„  tl,e  duiracters  i„..,„e,l  .,,■ .,  „,„„.„  Ctl.olic  |„i..,  „„„,  j.,,„  ,^.,j 


A  ^''i 
s 


\\ 


^      \1 


{( 


(   ! 


f      \ 


1  f  i  i 


I'- 
ll s 


p  n ! 


,  I 


i( ; 


['.■    « 


'1 


IV 


UNDER   WAV    I'OR   McMUKRAV 

With  several  Indians  running  before  to  csrjrt  us  be- 
yond the  post  in   approved  style,  we  left  La  Biche  at  a 
pretty  brisk  gait,  and  maintained  for  a  good  hour  a  pace 
which  must  have  carried  us  six  miles.     But  Heming  and 
I  were  so  delighted  at  being  finally  and  really  under  way 
that  no  speed  those   Indians  could  have  set  would  have 
been  too  stiff  for  us.     As  we  ran  we  now  and  again  de- 
livered ourselves  of  congratulations  that  were  expressive, 
if  brief  and  somewhat  disconnected  in  de- 
livery.    We  had  been  delayed  three  days 
and  a  half  at  La  Biche,  fussing  with  Ind- 
ians  that    had    more    time    than    energy, 
more  promise   than   execution,  and   who 
broke  contracts  as  rapidly  as  they  made 
them.     Gairdner  had  annoyed  me  a  great 
deal,  and  no  doubt  wc   had  worried  him 
not   a   little,  breaking   in  upon   the    even 
and   lethargic   tenor    of   his    monotonous- 
life  with  our  "  outside  "  (as  the  great  world 
is  called  by  the  denizens  of  this  lone  land) 
hustling   ways.     But    now   that    it   is   all 
past,  and  the  trip  successfully  made,  I  am 
willing  to  forgive  and  be  forgiven. 
We  did  not  expect  to  go  far  that  night ;  our  chief  de- 
sire was  to  get  started  ;  and,  besides,  we  knew  we  should 
pass   several    Indian   houses,  where  wc   must   stop,  that 


lumberman's 

SIIOK, 

Ottawa  River, 

j>V  feet  long 


(I 


m  1 


UNDER   WAV    FOR    McMURRAV 


41 


"Shot"  and  John  might  live  up  to  the  usual  demands 
of  the  country  courtes)',  and  shake  hands  with  the  occu- 
pants, and  gossip  about  the  white  men  they  were  guid- 
ing ovei  the  first  stage  of  their  long  journey.  Shaking 
hands  always  includes  the  further  cere- 
mony of  filling  up  the  pipes  and  a  drink  of 
tea,  should  the  host  happen  to  have  any  of 
that  luxury,  and  so  when  we  had  left  the 
last  Indian  lodge,  and  crossed  the  north- 
east end  of  the  lake  and  got  well  into  the 
woods,  it  was  sunset,  and  time  to  camp. 
The  going  down  of  the  sun  is  the  invari- 
able signal  for  camping,  for  the  twilight  is 
of  short  duration,  and  the  Indians  will  not 
run  the  risk  of  accident  by  chopping  wood 
after  dark.  And  they  are  quite  right.  A 
cut  foot  or  leg  in  civilization  is  ordinarily 
little  more  than  inconvenient,  but  in  this 
trackless  wilderness  any  wound  that  handi- 
caps a  man's  walking  may  lead  to  his  death. 
And  so  as  the  sun  begins  to  disappear  be- 
low the  horizon  you  grow  watchful  for  a  ikackkr's  shok. 
place  that  is  most  sheltered  and  best  wood  ^■•^"■^'"•^"^••"-si"- 
ed  and  nearest  the  direction  in  which  you 


tlnb, 


are  going. 


By  the  time  we  had  gathered  firewood  it  began  to 
snow,  and  we  ate  our  first  meal  in  the  open,  with  backs 
arched  to  windward,  and  capv./te  hoods  pulled  up  over 
our  heads  to  keep  the  flakes  from  going  down  our 
necks.  That  first  night  out  was  an  interesting  one  to  me  ; 
with  recollections  of  bivouacs  in  the  Rockies,  I  thought 
the  fire  insignificant  and  the  timber  small,  but  the  dogs 
sitting  on  their  haunches  watching  the  thawing  of  the 
frozen   fish   that  were  to   furnish   them  with  supper,  and 


42 


ON    snow-shoes    to   THfc:    UARKEN   GROUNDS 


the  sledges  drawn  on  the  banked-up  snow  at  the  head  of 
our  blankets,  made  a  scene  that  was  novel  to  me,  and  also 
somewhat  picturesque. 

Every  one  was  sleeping  the  sleep  of  the  weary,  if 
not  of  the  just,  and  the  dogs  had  eaten  and  curled 
themselves  up  in  the  snow  for  the  night,  when  I  finally 
threw  ofT  my  meditative  mood  and  rolled  up  in  my 
blankets. 

■  It  snowed  all  night,  and  when  we  broke  camp  the  next 
morning  at  six  it  was  still  snowing,  and  there  was  a  cold 
head-wind  that  made  us  move  lively  to  keep  comfortable. 
The  trail  wound  through  brush  and  small  timber,  and 
now  and  again  across  a  small  lake,  but  its  greatest  length 
lay  over  what  is  called  "  muskeg,"  which  is  Cree  for 
swamp,  and  the  most  tiring,  patience-testing  travelling  I 
had  ever  encountered. 

Imagine  a  landlocked  lake  swept  by  furious  cross- 
winds,  and  its  entire  surface  churned  into  choppy  waves ; 
suppose  it  suddenly  congealed  at  its  angriest  moment ; 
further,  suppose  a  deep  layer  of  miry  earth  covered  by 
thick,  heavy  moss  moulded  upon  it,  and  stuck  full  of 
close-growing  stout  brush.  That  is  the  muskeg.  Now 
fancy  walking  over  a  succession  of  uneven  hummocks 
with  brush  constantly  catching  your  snow-shoe  and  slap- 
ping your  face,  and  you  will  have  a  vague  idea  of  the 
difficulties  of  muskeg  travel.  Level  footing  is  exceeding- 
ly scarce,  the  wind  blows  the  snow  "whither  it  listeth," 
and  you  cannot  know  whether  you  are  about  to  step  on 
top  of  one  of  those  innumerable  mounds  or  into  one  of 
the  many  gutters  that  cross-section  the  swamp.  You 
know  after  you  have  taken  the  step.  Nine  times  out  of 
ten  you  land  on  the  slanting  side  of  the  mound,  and  slip 
and  trip  and  turn  j-our  ankle  and  use  yourself  up  gener- 
ally.    It  is  excccdiiigh'  difficult  going,  and  Heming  and 


!iv 


e   for 


cross- 
aves ; 
nent ; 

ill   of 


locks 


;ai 


the 
'ng- 


»  on 
i  of 
("'ou 
t  of 
slip 


'   KB,''' 


i 


ii 


H 


r,    ' 
U  '! 


] 


UNDER   WAV   FOR    McMURRAV 


45 


I,  who  relieved  one  another  breaking  trail  for  the  dogs, 
found  it  very  fatiguing. 

It  was  storming  hard  and  getting  colder,  and  I  was 
ahead  setting  the  pace,  when,  about  three  o'clock  that 
afternoon,  I  carr.c  upon  a  log  hut,  and  two  trails  that  bore 
away  in  different  directions.  I  wish  I  could  have  photo- 
graphed the  scene  which  slowly  materialized  from  out  of 
the  darkness  as  1  stood  on  the  earthen  floor  within  the 
cabin  while  my  eyes  grew  accustomed  to  the  changed  con- 
ditions. On  entering  I  could  distinguish  only  the  fire  in 
one  end,  before  which  squatted  a  couple  of  Indians  and 
a  squaw,  but  gradually  the  shadows  lifted,  and  I  found 
myself  for  a  few  moments  busily  engaged  shaking  hands 
with  Indians  as  fast  as  the  new  light  revealed  them.  It 
was  a  very  small  cabin,  barely  ten  feet  square,  I  should 
say,  with  a  parchment-covered  hole  in  the  wall  for  a  win- 
dow, and  a  door  which  demanded  a  bowed  head  of  every 
visitor.  I  do  not  know  how  many  Indians  were  in  that 
hut,  but  I  recall  wondering  how  they  arranged  for  sleep- 
ing, as  there  seemed  hardly  space  for  them  to  sit,  much 
less  lie  down.  They  were  about  to  eat,  and  several  rab- 
bits, suspended  full  length  from  a  deer  thong,  and  minus 
only  their  skins,  were  twirling  and  roasting  before  the  fire, 
while  others  were  being  prepared  for  the  cooking.  I  was 
not  partial  to  rabbit,  nor  especially  happy  in  the  cabin's 
atmosphere,  so  when  I  had  warmed  a  bit  I  went  outside 
to  await  the  remainder  of  my  party. 

Hcming  and  John  hove  in  sight  shortly,  but  quite  half 
an  hour  had  passed  when  "  Shot  "  and  his  dogs  loomed  up 
in  the  storm,  that  seemed  increasing  every  minute.  Then 
"  Shot  "  and  I  had  our  first  battle  royal.  He  fancied  the 
smell  of  the  roasting  rabbit  and  the  warm  cabin  ;  he  did 
not  like  the  sleet  driving  in  our  faces,  and  he  wanted  to 
camp.     I  was  annoj-ed  at  the  interruptions  to  our  prog- 


t 


^  . 


':( 


:,'! 


.       ^ 


46 


ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO   THE   UARKEN   GROUNDS 


ress,  disgusted  with  "  Shot "  for  his  vainglorious  mouth- 
ing at  La  Biche  and  his  halting  gait  since  leaving  there, 
and  determined  that  night  to  reach  Hart  Lake,  which  was 
only  seven  or  eight  miles  farther  on,  and  where  we  ex- 
pected to  get  fish  (of  which  we  then  had 
none)  for  our  dogs.  In  language  that 
was  pointed  I  reminded  "  Shot  "  of  my 
being  the  commander-in-chief  of  our 
little  expedition,  and  made  him  under- 
stand we  were  out  neither  for  pleasure 
nor  for  our  health,  that  we  had  an  ob- 
jective point,  and  intended  to  get  there 
without  loss  of  time,  and  without  camp- 
ing in  every  cabin  we  discovered  or  being 
headed  off  by  every  severe  storm  we  en- 
countered. "  Shot  "  spluttered  a  great 
deal  at  first,  and  then  looked  as  if  it  would 
give  him  pleasure  to  bury  his  hunting- 
knife  in  my  flesh  ;  but  he  sulked  instead, 
and  we  moved  away  from  the  crowd- 
ed little  house  and  the  roasting  rabbits. 
There  had  been  a  broken  trail  from 
this  point  to  Hart  Lake,  but  the  same 
storm  that  was  making  our  walking  so 
arduous  had  almost  obliterated  it,  and 
night  had  long  since  fallen  and  the  ther- 
mometer registered  30°  below  zero  when 
we  reached  the  cabin  of  the  Indian  who 
Gairdner  had  said  would  sell  us  fish 
enough  to  last  to  the  McMurray  fish- 
ery. Hut,  like  all  the  things  Gairdner  told  us,  we  found 
realization  quite  different  from  promise.  The  Indian 
was  willing  enough  to  sell,  but  his  cache  was  fifteen 
miles  away;  he  had  just  heard  it  had  been  broken  into 


6i; 

NATIVK-MADE  MEN'iJ 
I.KCJCINC;  CARTERS, 

From    ail    old   and   lust 
design 


it', 


UNDKK    WAV    FOR    M(MURKAV 


47 


ish- 
ind 
ian 

hto 


and  all  his  fish  stolen,  so  that  he  could  not  say  wheth- 
er or  no  he  really  had  any ;  and,  at  all  events,  he  could 
not  make  the  journey  in  one  day,  and  would  not  start  the 
next  (Sunday),  because  it  was  the  occasion  of  the  priest's 
yearly  visit  to  this  district.  I  was  sorry  to  jeopard  his 
soul  by  depriving  it  of  the  annual  shriving,  but  I  believed 
my  dogs  in  more  urgent  need  of  fish  than  he  of  salvation, 
and  I  was  sure  three  days'  delay  at  Hart  Lake  would 
blight  definitely  whatever  hopes  of  a  future  reward  I 
might  previously  have  enjoyed.  Therefore  I  set  about  to 
wreck  that  Indian's  peace  of  mind.  Four  skins — i.e.,  two 
dollars — quieted  spiritual  alarms,  a  silk  handkerchief  to  the 
wife  secured  a  promise  to  make  the  trip  to  the  cache  and 
back  in  one  day,  and  the  coup  d'etat  was  executed  by 
enlisting  "Shot's"  sympathies  through  my  assuring  him 
that,  fish  or  no  fish,  I  should  start  Monday  morning,  and, 
if  necessary,  feed  our  bacon  to  the  dogs,  and  complete  the 
journey  on  tea  and  potatoes,  of  which  latter  we  had  a  few 
meals  left.  Thus  it  was  that  I  got  the  Indian  started  off 
early  Sunday  morning  for  his  cache,  and  saved  two  souls 
and  eight  dogs. 

The  beneficence  of  the  La  Biche  priest  extended  further 
that  Sunday  than  he  knew.  Heming  and  I  blessed  his 
coming  without  stint,  for  it  emptied  of  its  usual  occupants 
the  filthy  cabin  in  which  we  were  obliged  to  spend  the  day 
and  another  night,  and  gave  us  an  opportunity  to  sweep 
the  floor  and  renew  intimate  relations  with  water. 

When  we  took  up  our  journey  again  Monday  morning, 
with  the  insufficient  supply  of  fish  got  from  the  Indian's 
despoiled  cache,  the  mercury  had  dropped  to  54°  below 
zero,  and  there  was  no  longer  a  broken  trail.  Our  first 
ten  miles  lay  across  a  lake,  and  both  Heming  and  I,  who 
were  breaking  road,  and  sinking  up  to  our  knees  in  the 
snow,  were  frequently  startled  by  a  rumbling  as  of  distant 


H 


li'i! 


i 


!  . 


■«! 


48 


ON   SNOW- SHOES   TO    TllK    lURKEN   (IROUNDS 


thunder  as  the  ice  cracked  under  us.  It  was  a  curious 
sensation,  too,  to  have  these  explosions  at  our  feet,  vibr.i- 
ting  towards  the  shores  in  successive  and  receding  detona- 
tions, like  the  rings  which 
widen  and  follow  upon  one 
another  when  you  have 
thrown  a  stone  into  a  pond. 
On  one  occasion  water  fol- 
lowed the  cracking,  and  we 
were  obliged  to  run  hard, 
until  we  stopped  for  din- 
ner, to  keep  our  feet  from 
freezing. 

The  going  was  exceed- 
ingly difficult  all  day  long, 
in  deep  snow,  across  lakes, 
through  bunches  of  stunt- 
ed spruce,  and  over  the  re- 
doubtable muskeg,  where 
the  sledges  required  con- 
stant handling,  and  never 
by  any  chance  remained 
right  side  up  for  more  than  a  few  moments  at  a  time. 
Still,  the  weather  remained  clear,  and  when  we  camped, 
at  six  o'clock,  the  stars  were  shining  brightly,  and  we 
had  left  Hart  Lake  thirty-eight  miles  behind  us,  Heming 
and  I  running  the  last  nine  miles  in  one  hour  and  forty 
minutes. 


WAl'lTI    HUNTEK 


HEMING  TURNS   BACK 


:  ^1 


I  HAD  been  very  much  worried  over  Hcniing's  condi- 
tion the  last  two  days.  On  the  night  we  arrived  at  Hart 
Lake  he  seemed  considerably  worn,  and  the  only  consola- 
tion I  had  in  the  day's  delay  there  was  the  hope  it  fur- 
nished that  the  rest  would  brace  him  up.  But  on  this 
night  he  was  completely  used  up,  and  I  was  very  seriously 
alarmed  by  discovering  symptoms  of  deranged  kidneys. 
I  did  not  then  know  the  cause,  and  attributed  it  to  strain 
brought  on  by  hard  running.  In  fact,  Hcming  did  not 
tell  mc,  until  1  stopped  off  at  Hamilton  to  see  him  on  my 
way  back  to  New  York,  that  on  the  day's  run  to  Hart 
Lake  he  had  fallen  over  a  log  and  struck  on  the  small  of 
his  back.  I  only  knew  at  that  time  that  any  weakness  of 
the  kidneys  was  not  to  be  trifled  with,  and  1  felt  it  would 
be  extremely  hazardous  to  take  him  on  ;  so  I  lay  down 
that  night  to  think  rather  than  to  sleep. 

It  was  fearfully  cold  the  following  morning,  with  the 
going  growing  harder  every  hour,  and  I  fell  behind  Hem- 
ing  to  watch  how  he  stood  up  under  the  effort.  I  could 
plainly  see  he  was  laboring  with  great  difificulty,  and  con- 
cluded it  would  be  suicidal  for  him  to  continue,  getting 
farther  from  civilization  and  physicians  every  mile,  so  at 
ten  o'clock  I  called  a  halt,  and  expressed  my  determina- 
tion to  send  him  home.  Heming  was  loath  to  turn  back, 
but  appreciated  his  unfitness  for  the  onward  journey,  and 
4 


w 


(fJ! 


SO 


ON    SNOW-SllOKS   TO    IMK    HAKKKN    GROUNDS 


{; 


•1,  ;, 


1 


i 


'J,  V  ■, 


I 


<!: 


1^0 


ill 


n 


i. 


acquiesced  in  a  decision  which  must  have  brouf^ht  him 
keenest  disappointment. 

We  had  stepped  aside  for  our  conference,  and  I  have 
little  doubt  "Shot"  fancied  us  planninj^  sometliing  for 
his  discomfort,  and  was  much  reUeved  on  learninjj  he  was 
to  return  to  La  Hichc.  I  decided  on  "  Shot  "  instead  of 
John,  because  he  understood  EngUsh  enough  to  admin- 
ister to  ITeming's  wants  in  case  of  his  collapse.  Then, 
through  "Shot's"  interpretation,  I  had  to  win  John's  con- 
sent to  go  on  with  mc,  and  I  experienced  a  very  disquiet- 
ing half-hour  indeed  while  John  underwent  the  elaborate 
process  of  making  up  his  mind.  First  he  refused  ;  then 
he  demurred  because  he  had  never  been  in  that  part  of 
the  country  before,  and  was  as  dependent  on  "  Shot "  for 
guidance  as  we  were  ourselves.  And  again  he  objected 
because  he  could   not  speak  nor  understand  a  word  of 

English,  and  I  was  as  deficient  in 
Cree.  However,  finally  he  consent- 
ed if  I  would  give  him  a  few  pres- 
ents, the  nature  of  which  1  have  now 
forgotten  ;  and  after  we  had  eaten, 
the  two  Indians  set  to  work  divid- 
ing the  supplies  and  repacking  the 
sledges.  It  was  not  a  very  elabo- 
rate task,  and  did  not  take  long.  We 
had  eaten  the  last  of  the  potatoes, 
and  so  when  the  bacon  and  the  tea 
and  the  flour  had  been  divided,  the 
blankets  separated,  and  Hcmingand 
I  had  indicated  which  was  which  of 
the  two  seamless  sacks  that  contained  our  personal  lug- 
gage, the  sledges  were  packed  and  the  dogs  headed  in  op- 
posite directions. 

Then  we  went  our  separate  ways,  and  I  took  up  my 


JOHN 


(i 


the 

iibo- 

Wc 

ocs, 

tea 

the 

and 

of 

ug- 

op- 

my 


lIIiMINC.    TURNS    HACK 


5» 


journey  to  tlie  great  hme  land,  over  a  strange  country, 
and  without  even  the  poor  satisfaction  of  talking  my 
mother-tongue. 

My  regret  over  Heming's  falling  ill  may  be  better  imag- 
ined than  describeil.  Foremost,  of  course,  I  deplored  the 
loss  of  a  companion  on  a  trip  which  was  to  extend  over 
2800  miles ;  and  of  less  but  still  considerable  concern  was 
the  sudden  deprivation  of  a  helpmate,  upon  whose  hardi- 
hood and  experience  I  had  confidently  counted.  Ileming 
had  had  abundant  snow-shoeing  and  some  dog- sledging, 
and  I  set  much  value  on  a  knowledge  that  would,  to  some 
extent  at  least,  facilitate  our  venturesome  undertaking. 
And  now  here  I  was,  just  four  days  out  from  La  Biche, 
never  having  had  a  web  snow-shoe  on  my  foot,  nor  even 
seen  a  dog -sledge,  with  six  days  of  travel  over  an  un- 
known country  between  me  and  I-'ort  McMurray,  the 
next  nearest  trading -post.  However,  unpleasant  as  the 
prospect  Wtis,  I  had  thought  it  all  over  the  night  before 
as  I  lay  in  my  blankets  after  our  hard  day's  run,  and  real- 
ized the  situation  as  completely  as  I  had  settled  upon  my 
course.  But  it  was  not  a  happy  afternoon,  that  8th  of 
January,  1895,  which  saw  me,  after  the  separation,  trudg- 
ing onward  in  cold  and  in  silence.- 

If  I  lamented  Ileming,  most  assuredly  I  did  not  mourn 
"  Shot,"  notwithstanding  his  being  the  only  man  in  the 
outfit  who  knew  the  country  across  which  we  were  to 
journey.  Me  had  been  a  sore  trial  to  me  from  the  day 
of  our  departure — nay,  even  from  the  very  hour  of  our  in- 
troduction at  La  Biche — and  I  confess  to  honest  relief  in 
ridding  myself  of  him,  though  I  was  at  the  time  like  a 
ship  cast  adrift  without  rudder.  Before  starting  he  had 
deliberately  broken  his  contract,  and  followed  it  up  by  re- 
peated attempts  to  squeeze  more  money  out  of  me  when 
he  recognized  my  helplessness  and  saw  my  anxiety  to  get 


n 


r- 


2  i 


i, 


Sa 


ON    SNOW-SHOKS    IT)   THK    nAKUKN    CiKOUNUS 


imiilffj^^Wwiy 


under  w.'i}'.  He  exasperated  me  to  such  a  decree  that, 
knowinjf  an  indulgence  to  iny  feehn^s  would  result  in  his 
refusing  to  ^o  at  all,  I  remember  confiding  to  lleming  the 
great  liopc  that  my  legs  would  prove  as  stout  as  the)-  iiad 
at  other  times,  and  enable  me  to  set  such 
a  pace  as  should  make  "  Shot's  "  tongue 
hang  out  before  we  reached  IMcIMurray. 

Whether  the  pace  was  too  hot  or  he 
too  hizy  I  cannot  say.  but  certain!}-  when 
we  were  once  started  he  kept  me  bus)' 
urging  In'm  to  faster  gait ;  his  train  was 
invariably  so  far  behind  as  to  delay  us 
ten  to  fifteen  minutes  at  every  "spell" 
(rest),  which  meant  a  loss  of  from  six  to 
ALGONors  snoKs,      j.jp,|^^  „^ji^.^  i„  ^  ^^.^y'^  travel.      It  must 

Lake  Tcmiscamuga,         ,  ,  ,       .  ,  i        •  t     ii- 

,  .,  have  been  lazmcss,  because  he  is  a  half- 

3  feet  long 

breed  of  massive  bone  and  great  strength 
and  over  six  feet  in  height.  He  evidenti)-  thought  me 
a  "  moonyass,"  as  a  "tenderfoot"  is  called  in  this  coun- 
try, with  whom  he  could  play  any  game  he  chose  ;  and 
when  he  discovered  his  mistake  he  grew  sulky,  devel- 
oped a  lame  knee,  subsequently  a  sore  back,  and  delayed 
the  morning  start  by  his  reluctance  to  turn  out  when 
called  and  the  length  of  time  he  consumed  in  packing 
the  sledges.  The  only  day  of  the  four  he  was  with  me 
on  w-hich  I  got  him  to  set  off  promptly  and  travel  smart- 
ly w-as  the  last  one,  when  the  prospect  of  reaching  a  de- 
serted ».,"bin  for  the  night's  camp  carried  him  on.  I  could 
have  forgiven  him  the  lagging  behind,  for  the  going  was 
hard,  and  he  had  none  of  the  incentive  that  added  ner- 
vous to  my  ph)-sical  energy,  but  his  avariciousncss  at  La 
Biche  and  his  suUenness  on  the  road  hardened  my  heart, 
and  I  cut  out  his  w-ork  on  a  scale  that,  1  fancy,  made  the 
parting  between  us  one  for  mutual  congratulation. 


lien 


;ing 
nic 
art- 


ild 


as 


II  cr- 


lart, 
It  lie 


y. 

c 

r. 

?e 

c 

■y 

C 


C 

c 


f  T  '  ■ 


!).! 


■   I  i 


'   > 


!: 

iiif'i 

1! 

1  , 

! 

1 

I.  I 

i  ; 
( 

'  if 

B 

Ijl 

fM  i  1 

'i 

m{' 

1 

' 

' 

1 

It 

; 

M 


''V     1 .) 


li 


li 


t     i 


'«' 


IIEMIXG   TURNS   BACK 


55 


And  so  John  and  I  set  out  on  our  journey,  neitttcr  of  us 
knowing  where  the  morrow  might  find  us,  and  I  with  a 
Cree  vocabulary  limited  to  Namoivyah  (No),  lih-ha  (Yes), 
Kcepcc  (Hurry),  Wali-hc-o-chc ?  (How  far  is  it }), iMc-wah-sin 
(Good).  I  do  not  know  how  many  miles  we  covered  the 
afternoon  Heming  turned  homeward,  for  I  was  too  thor- 
oughly absorbed  in  thoughts  of  what  was  coming  to  n'->te 
the  passing,  but  the  camp  of  that  night  was.  luckily,  the 
best  we  made  on  the  trip.  It  was  sheltered  from  the 
howling  wind,  wood  was  plentiful,  and  with  blankets,  moc- 
casins, and  leggings  hung  on  poles  to  dry  before  the  blaz- 
ing logs,  might  even  have  been  called  picturesque,  unless 
that  quality  may  be  said  to  disappear  when  the  mercury 
registers  40°  below  zero  ten  feet  from  the  fire.  We  were 
not  likely  to  find  so  favored  a  spot  another  night,  and  f 
made  John  know  he  should  take  advantage  of  the  good 
fire  and  prepare  "  bannocks  "  to  last  us  a  few  days. 

The  bannock  is  simply  flour  and  water  and  grease  thor- 
oughly kneatlcd  and  well  baked  ;  the  usual  method  of 
cooking  is  to  shape  the  dough  an  inch  deep  to  the  inside 
of  a  frying-pan,  and  stand  the  latter  before  the  camp-fire. 
The  bannock  is  not  beautiful  to  the  eye  nor  tempting  to 
the  fastidious  palate:  moreover,  it  never  rises  superior  to 
that  "sadness"  which  is  characteristic  of  underdone  bread 
the  world  over.  But  the  bannock  is  much  better  suited 
to  the  needs  of  the  tripper  or  voyagcKr,  as  the  snow-shoe 
traveller  is  called,  than  the  light  yeast  bread  of  the  gram/ 
pays  (great  world).  The  bread  of  civilization  is  filling,  but 
lacks  substance  ;  the  bannock  has  both  filling  and  sub- 
stance;  and  when  one  has  nothing  to  eat  but  bread  and 
tea  and  bacon,  and  is  running  five  miles  an  hour  from  sun- 
rise to  sunset  day  after  day,  substance  is  a  desirable  qual- 
ity. While  John  made  the  bannocks.  I  attended  to  thaw- 
ing fish  for  the  dogs ;  and  when  we  had  both  finished  and 


IfJ 


<t\ 


n 


I 


56 


ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO    THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 


lighted  our  pipes  I  undertook  to  hold  my  first  conversa- 
tion with  him  in  the  language  of  signs. 

The  warning  most  impressed  upon  me,  by  all  those 
claiming  any  knowledge  of  the  country  into  which  I  was 
going,  had  been  against  the  unreliability  of  the  Indians. 
I  had  been  told  of  their  tendency  to  desert  under  trying 
conditions,  and  the  little  there  was  to  read  on  the  subject 
emphasized  the  need  of  vigilance.  That  John  would  grow 
discouraged,  and  quietly  steal  away  from  the  camp  some 
night,  was  a  thought  which  possessed  and  worried  me 
considerably.  I  was  prepared  to  see  his.  dismay  as  we 
plodded  on  in  the  hard  going,  and  to  hear  his  grumbling, 
even  though  I  could  not  understand,  but  I  did  not  propose, 
if  I  could  prevent  it,  awakening  one  morning  to  find  him 
and  the  dogs  gone.  So  I  engaged  John's  attention  on 
this  our  first  night  together,  and  in  my  best  pantomime  I 
tried  to  make  him  understand  that  if  he  stayed  with  me 
to  McMurray  and  was  a  vie-ivaJi-sin  Indian,  I  should  be  a 
inc-ii'dh-sin  "moonyass";  but  if  he  deserted  me  he  had 
bettor  cut  my  throat  before  he  left  camp,  as  otherwise 
I  should  follow  his  trail  and  kill  him.  John  looked  very 
wise  and  serious  during  my  dramatic  recital,  and  I  guess 
he  understood  me.  Whether  he  did  or  not,  certainly  his 
discouragement  in  the  trying  days  we  had  subsequently 
never  reached  a  mutinous  point,  and  I  fully  believe  he 
needed  no  intimidation  to  be  a  "  tnc-ioah-sin  Indian."  I 
wondered  that  night,  and  as  the  scene  has  come  up  be- 
fore me  many  times  since  I  have  wondered  again,  what 
that  Cr  e  must  have  thought  of  this  white  man  who  \>as 
pushing  into  his  country  at  a  time  when  he  himself  usu- 
ally remained  in-doors,  had  pressed  him  into  a  service  for 
which  he  had  no  liking,  and  threatened  to  take  his  life 
if  he  forsook  it. 


VI 


FITTING    FOR    ARCTIC    VVEATIIFR 

Despite  our  sheltered  position  and  the  big  fire,  I  put 
in  an  uncomfortable  night  in  this  picturesque  camp.     It 
was,  in  fact,  the  first  of  many  uncomfortable  nights  before 
I  adjusted  my  blankets  and  robes  properly.     I  had  ample 
bedding,  and   of  course   could  have   got   warm  quickly 
enough  had  I  used  it  at  all,  but  that  was  precisely  what  I 
did  not  want  to  do.     I  wished  to  use  the  smallest  amount 
of  covering  possible,  and  yet  be  not  too  uncomfortable  to 
preclude  sleep.     I  did  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the 
cold  I  was  then  experiencing  was  as  summer  compared 
with   that  which  I  should  be  obliged   to  endure  in  the 
Barren  Grounds.   And  as  I  had  trained  before  leaving  New 
York  for  extreme  physical  exertion,  so  now  I  began  fitting 
myself  for  excessive   cold.     Indeed,  I   am    entirely  con- 
vmced  it  was  my  very  careful  and  thorough  previous  con- 
ditioning that   enabled  me  to   sustain   the  starving  and 
freezing  to    which  I  was   subjected   on    this  (about)  six 
months'  trip,  and  yet   come  out  of  it  in  sound  physical 
condition  and  without  having  had  a  day's  sickness.     My 
camping  experience  had  been  rather  extensive,  and  was 
now  valuable  in  suggesting  ways  of  making  most  out  of 
httle.     An  old  campaigner  will,  simply  by  his  method  of 
wrapping  :t  about  him,  get  as  much  if  not  more  warmth 
out  of  a  single  blanket  than  the  novice  will  out  of  two. 
Nevertheless,  with  all  my  experience,  for  the  first  week  I 


i<i!l 


'W 

m 


% 


\ 


58 


ON    SNOW-SIIOKS   TO   TIIK    UAUUKX   GROUNDS 


shivered  and  shook  in  the  bedding  I  permitted  ni)'self, 
and  the  temptation  to  add  one  more  blanket  was  ahiiost 
irresistible. 

Not  that  the  atmosphere  was  colder  than  I  iiad  before 
experienced,  for  40°  below  is  by  no  means  uncommon  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  where  I  have  camped,  but  the 
wind  made  me  so  miserable.     It  blew  more  than  half  the 


roi.K  t.nnr.F.  in  which  moosk  ani>  cakiroi;  skins  are  smokeij 

time,  and  nothing  could  resist  its  searchings.  It  went 
straight  through  capotes,  leggings,  and  blankets,  and  made 
sleep  impossible  for  me  several  nights  on  the  way  to 
IVIcMurray.  The  dogs,  however,  seemed  unmindful  of 
either  wind  or  cold.  At  night,  after  ^"'ey  had  eaten  their 
fish,  they  went  a  few  yards  from  the  i.re.  scratched  .iway 
a  little  of  the  top  snow,  and  then  curled  up,  back  to  wind- 
ward. In  the  morning  when  they  were  dragged  to  har- 
ness they  left  the  outline  of  their  body  in  the  snow,  and 


MTTIXd    I'Ok    ARCTIC    WEAITIKU 


59 


a  well-defined  depression,  which  sometimes  even  showed 
the  ground.  Nothing  but  fur  can  insure  warmth  or  even 
comfort  in  this  chilling  North,  h'arther  along,  and  before 
making  my  bison  or  musk-ox  hunt,  I  secured  a  caribou- 
skin  capote  with  the  fur  on,  but  until  I  got  one  I  was  a 
shivering  victim  of  the  wind,  for  the  capote  I  had  fetched 
from  Hamilton,  Canada,  was  useless.  Having  been  madt- 
of  unsmoked  leather,  the  first  snow-storm  soaked  and  the 
fire  shrank  it ;  then  it  was  too  heavy  to  run  in,  and  the 
blanket  lining  for  warmth  was  greatly  inferior  to  fur.  No 
garment  can  excel  the  caribou  capotes  made  by  the  Ind- 
ians for  exposure  in  the  excessive  cold  and  piercing  winds 
of  this  North  country.  They  are  very  light,  and  do  not 
therefore  add  to  the  burden  of  the  vovof^oif,  while  being 
literally  impervious  to  all  winds,  save  those  deadly  blasts 
of  the  Barren  Grounds. 

The  Indian  tripper  in  winter  first  secures  stout  moc- 
casins and  new  "  duffel,"  and  next  looks  to  his  caribou- 
skin  capote.  Anything  may  an- 
swer for  trousers  or  head  cover- 
ing, the  former,  indeed,  being 
moose  or  caribou  skin,  blanket, 
or  "  store  pants  "  got  at  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  post  in  trade, 
while  the  conventional  hat  is  sup- 
plied by  a  colored  handkerchief 
wound  about  the  head,  just  abo\c 
the  forehead  and  ears,  to  keep  the 
long  hair  in  place.  Formerly  it 
was,  and  still  is  in  the  more  re- 
mote sections,  a  moose  or  car- 
ibou thong  bound  b)'  sinew  and  decorated  with  por- 
cupine quill.  But  the  foot  -  covering  must  be  of  the 
best.     Moccasins  arc  made  of  smoked  moose-skin,  because 


NOR'lIIWKsr     SOCK    iiK 
DllKKI. 


IT 


lltf 


U5 


I 


n 


K\ 


fliK 


■i 


(11   "I 


60 


ON  SNOW-SHOES  TO  THE  BARREN  GROUNDS 


of  its  thickness  (though  the  thinner  caribou-skin  is  equal- 
ly durable),  and  are  really  the  pride  of  the  Indian  ward- 
robe. They  are  the  most,  and  very  frequently  the  only, 
decorated  piece  of  his  apparel ;  in  presentation  they  are  the 
vehicle  of  regard  from  one  Indian  to  another;  they  carry 
the  first  tidings  of  a  more  tender  sentiment  from  the 
maiden  to  the  young  hunter,  and  are  the  surest  indication 
not  only  of  the  degree  of  the  woman's  handiwork,  but,  if 
she  be  married,  of  the  degree  of  her  regard  for  the  hus- 
band. 

An  Indian's  moccasins  are  a  walking  advertisement  of 
his  standing  at  home.  Blessed  is  the  civilized  world  in- 
somuch as  its  wives  are  not  its  bootmakers ! 

I  was  not  long  in  reading  aright  the  signs  of  the  moc- 
casins, and  ever  a  er,  when  I  required 
any  made  at  the  posts,  first  sought  ac- 
quaintance with  the  husband  before  or- 
dering. No  doubt  many  a  pair  of  shoes 
I  scrutinized  did  not  represent  the  best 
work  of  the  poor  devil's  wife,  but  I 
found  them  at  least  accurate  in  deter- 
mining his  importance  within  his  own 
tepee.  Moccasin  decoration,  in  fact, 
practically  all  Northland  Indian  orna- 
mentation, is  done  in  beads,  in  porcu- 
pine quill,  or  in  silk  embroidery.  Silk-work  is  of  some- 
what recent  introduction,  confined  entirely  to  half-breeds, 
and  although  rather  well  executed,  is  the  least  effective. 
The  French  half-breeds  are  largely  responsible  for  the 
flower-pattern  bead  embroidery,  which  is  the  vogue  all 
over  the  northern  part  of  this  country.  One  sees  moc- 
casins, mittens,  leggings,  garters  (which,  by  the  way,  only 
the  men  wear),  all  in  patterns  copied  from  nature,  and 
therefore  somewhat  noteworthy,  but  not  nearly  so  strik- 


INDIAN    SLIPPERS 


■  ...lyiwTi.  'ri  .»r'r"^.""ytr«""  iimwi 


FITTING   FOR    ARCTIC    WEATIIFR 


6t 


ing  as  the  pure  Indian  designs  of  the   more  southerly 
tribes. 

The  porcupine-quill  work  is  truly  Indian,  and,  at  its 
best,  exceedingly  striking,  both  in  design  and  coloring, 
though  only  the  most  skilful  can  do  it  acceptably,  for  each 
tiny  quill,  after  dyeing,  is  woven  in  separately,  and  the 
weaver's  ingenuity  or  lack  of  it  is  revealed  in  the  design. 
The  best  specimens  of  this  work  are  seen  in  the  women's 
belts,  though  it  is  put  on  moccasins,  shirts,  skirts,  gun- 
coats,  as  well  as  on  the  birch-bark  baskets  called  rogans, 
and  used  for  every  purpose.  "  DufTel "  is  a  thick  blanket 
stuff,  which,  together  with  "strouds,"  a  similar  though 
more  closely  spun  material,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
introduced  and  christened.  Duffel  is  used  for  socks  and 
strouds  for  leggings,  and  both  are  manufactured  expressly 
for  the  trade  in  this  country.  Leggings  are  used  as  much 
to  keep  the  trousers  from  becoming  ice  coated  during 
the  day's  snow-shoeing  as  for  warmth.  At  night  they 
are  removed,  and  thus  your  blankets  are  kept  compara- 
tively free  of  snow.  The  Indian  gets  his  duffel  b)-  the 
yard,  and  when  he  has  cut  it  into  strips  about  six  inches 
wide  by  eighteen  inches  long  his  socks  are  completed. 
Their  adjustment  is  equally  simple,  for  he  has  only  to  be- 
gin at  the  toes  and  wind  the  piece  throughout  its  length 
about  the  foot.  The  half-breed  takes  his  duffel  home, 
where  it  is  shaped  and  sewed  into  crude  socks,  and  if  his 
wife  thinks  well  of  him,  and  is  clever,  she  will  vary  them 
in  size  (as  two  or  three  pairs  are  worn  at  a  time  inside  the 
moccasin),  and  fancy-stitch  them  in  colored  yarn.  I  tried 
both  styles  of  sock,  and  prefer  the  Indian's  simpler  kind  : 
it  is  more  quickly  thawed  out  and  dried  at  night ;  if  one 
end  wears  or  burns,  it  may  be  rearranged  so  a  good  part 
covers  the  toes  and  heel — the  most  important  to  keep 
from  freezing.     Besides,  you  can  fit  it  more  snuglj-,  which 


62 


ON   SXOW-SMOKS   TO    THK    IJAKKKN'   GROUNDS 


m 


'fell 


is,  I  tliiiik,  its  greatest  advaiitaj:je,  because,  if  you  do  not 
happen  to  have  a  wife  to  direct,  or,  havinij  one,  do  not 
stand  hii^li  in  her  estimation,  your  socks  will  be  of  the 
same  size,  and  all  too  large.  Consequently  your  feet  will 
slip  about,  which  is  most  tiresome  in 
long  and  hard  walking,  and  the  socks 
will  freeze  into  wrinkles,  and  when 
your  snow-shoe  strings  have  also  be- 
come frozen  they  will  cut  your  toes 
and  instep,  and  very  likely  cripple  you 
eventually.  While  your  moccasins  and 
socks  should  fit  snug,  they  must  not 
be  tight,  and  your  mittens  large  enough 
to  be  drawn  easily  over  hands  already 
encased  in  loose,  stout  gloves.  Noth- 
ing should  fit  tight  in  the  Northland, 
otherwise  your  chances  of  freezing  arc 
much  greater. 

The  denial  I  practised  in  the  matter 
of  blankets  proved  doubly  advantage- 
ous. It  conditioned  me  so  that  very 
soon  I  slept  soundly  and  comfortably, 
and  it  proved  a  blessing  to  John,  to 
whom  I  gave  of  my  surplus.  lie  was 
very  glad  to  get  the  additional  blanket, 
and  I  never  encountered  an  Indian 
throughout  my  trip  who  was  not  thank- 
ful for  any  extra  covering,  even  a  coat, 
that  I  let  him  have.  This  is  apro- 
pos of  the  declaration  made  to  the  venturer  into  this 
country  that  the  Indians  scorn  more  than  one  blanket. 
I  heard  it  on  all  sides.  "  What !  two  pairs  of  blankets  ? 
Why,  the  Indians,"  etc.,  etc.  When  these  Indians  sleep 
under   one  blanket  it   is  because  thev  have  no  second, 


A    \V(IMAN  S    I'OKCl  - 
ri.MXn  11,1.    1!K1.T 


'-C^-P'.." 


« 


J 


if;,       1' 


llii 


1^ 


K\' 

Im 

,..^5 

i 

S    JvW 


I'!',  i'  I 


:;r;;jaa;--wi. '.luija;. 


FITTINC;    FOR    ARCTIC    WEATIIFR 


^5 


nor  do  they  keep  warm  "  in  the  coldest  nights."  The 
contrary  is  all  miserable  boasting.  l\Iy  experience  con- 
vinced me  they  could  stand  no  greater  cold  than  I  ; 
when  it  was  merely  discomforting  they  were  more  indif- 
ferent to  it  than  a  white  man,  for  the  very  good  reason 
that  while  the  white  man  has  always  been  well  clothed 
and  fed  and  jirotected,  the  red  man  has  been  half  clothed 
and  fed  and  never  protected.  Naturally  the  latter  tloes 
not  mind  exposures  that  are  somewhat  trjing  on  first  ex- 
l)ericnce  to  the  former.  For  instance,  in  sitting  about 
camp,  the  Indians,  as  a  rule,  wore  the  same  coat  in  which 
they  had  been  running,  whereas  I  found  a  heavier  one 
more  comfortable.  It  was  not  that  the  Indians  were 
warm,  but  they  were  used  to  discomfort.  I  wrapped  up 
less  than  they  when  snow-shoeing,  but  more  than  they  in 
camp.  When  it  came  to  withstanding  the  fearful  cold 
and  withering  storms  of  the  Barren  Grounds,  mj-  endur- 
ance was  as  great,  and  my  suffering,  judging  from  appear- 
ances, not  so  much  as  theirs.  This  is  because  this  par- 
ticular Indian  has  no  heart,  no  nervous  energy,  no  re- 
serve force.  Confronted  by  the  unexpected  or  inex- 
plicable, he  gives  no  urgency  to  his  efforts ;  he  seeks  no 
solution  ;  he  simply  gives  up.  He  has  none  of  that  do- 
or-die sentiment;  he  prefers  to  die.  Dump  an  Indian 
and  a  bound  white  man  into  a  snow-bank,  and  the  lat- 
ter would  probably  freeze  to  death  first,  but  in  a  strug- 
gle for  existciice  under  any  conditions  the  white  man 
would  go  farther  and  keep  going  longer  than  the  red 
man. 

As  to  the  bedding  question,  when  I  was  on  my  home- 
ward journey  in  May  I  noted  Indians  sleeping  under  the 
same  number  of  blankets  they  had  used  while  I  was  mak- 
ing my  way  towards  Great  Slave  Lake  in  January.  What 
did  surprise  me  at  first,  however,  was  the  toughness  of 


66 


o\  snow-shoes  to  iiii;  uakkkn  (irounds 


their  feet.  1  marvelled  how  they  could  sleep  with  them 
sticking  out  from  under  the  blankets,  with  no  other  pro- 
tection from  the  cold  than  that  furnished  by  tlie  duffel 
and  moccasin.  I  ceased  to  wonder  once  I  had  viewed 
the  quarter-inch  layer  of  epidermis  on  the  heels  and 
soles. 


I  . 


lis 


u  1, 


I.  '  ! 

I 


V.I, 


t. 


'i^^?vmissm>ei'^ 


im 

'O- 

fcl 
cd 
nd 


VII 


m.IXn    I.KADINC   TIIK    lU.IND 


Thkuk  is  some  comfort  in  the  reflection  that  Jolin  ami 
I  liati  a  f:jood  camp  tliat  first  ni{:jht  we  were  alone,  for 
there  was  bitterness  enough  in  store  for  us  in  the  next 
four  days.  To  begin  with,  it  was  impossible  for  me  to 
wear  snow-shoes  in  breaking  trail  for  the  dogs,  although 
the  snow  was  nearly  knee-deep  and  the  going  heav\',  be- 
cause I  had  never  used  a  web  snow-shoe  before,  and  con- 
sequently was  not  sufficiently  expert  to  feel  the  McMur- 
ray  trail  under  the  foot  and  a  half  of  snow — and  to  follow 
this  trail  by  feeling  it  was  our  only  means  of  guidance. 
Then  our  bacon  was  about  out,  and  wc  had  but  one  meal 
of  fish  for  the  dogs.  Therefore  I  was  not  hilarious  when 
we  started  off  at  four  in  the  morning  in  a  blinding  snow- 
storm. "  Shot  "  had  told  me  something  of  the  nature  of 
the  country  over  which  the  trail  led,  but  the  country  was 
all  alike  to  us  in  that  storm.  I  know  we  went  through 
woods,  for  several  times  I  fell  heavily  against  a  tree,  but 
nothing  was  visible  except  on  closest  inspection.  My 
senses  were  all  concentrated  on  feeling  that  trail,  and  m\' 
energies  directed  to  weathering  the  storm,  whose  fury  was 
beginning  to  be  the  more  perceptible  as  the  day  dawned, 
when  suddenly  I  dropped  through  space — I  thought  at 
the  time  about  twenty  feet,  but  I  guess  it  was  not  more 
than  ten — and  the  dogs  and  the  sledge  and  John  fell  on 
top  of  me.     When  we  had  disentangled  ourselves  I  had  a 


I 


68 


OX    SNOW-SHOKS   TO   THE    BARREN'    GROUNDS 


if' 


\ 


■ 

1 

1; 

:  i 

v( 

'1 
V 
1 

more  puzzlin<;  situation  to  unravel  in  determining  where 
wc  were. 

I  felt  sure  I  had  not  lost  the  trail,  but  corroboration  was 
out  of  the  question,  because  the  road  made  by  our  dogs 
and  sledge  rendered  feeling  the  underlying  old  one  that 
had  guided  mc  impossible.  Going  ahead  a  little  distance, 
I  found  wc  were  on  a  lake,  but  could  discover  no  trail, 
and  the  storm  made  travelling  by  landmarks  impossible 
even  had  I  known  an)-,  which,  of  course,  1  did  not.  John's 
search  for  a  trail  proved  no  happ' m-  than  mine,  and  then 
he  wanted  to  camp ;  but  I  exhausted  upon  him  two-thirds 
of  my  Cree  vocabulary  in  "  nanioivyali "  (no)  and  ''keeper" 
(hurry),  and  we  made  a  wider  circuit  with  no  better  suc- 
cess. This  time  he  was  determined  to  camp  ;  and  the 
sleet  was  ci  'ting  our  faces,  and  the  dogs  were  howling, 
and  it  was  miserable.  But  wc  didn't  camp.  Again  I 
made  a  cast,  and  this  time  for  a  find.  I  was  sure  of  a 
piece  of  trail,  but  whence  it  came  and  whither  it  went  I 
could  not  determine.  The  snow  was  either  blown  a\va>- 
or  packed  so  hard  it  was  simply  impossible  to  follow  a 
trail  for  any  distance.  We  travelled  a  little  way  only  to 
lose  it  and  begin  our  searching  anew  :  another  find,  fol- 
lowed closely  by  a  check  and  yet  mother  heart-breaking 
cast.  And  thus,  how  man)-  miles  I  know  no.  we  worked 
our  way  across  that  Jack  Fish  Lake  in  the  teeth  of  a  storm 
that  whirled  around  us  unceasingly,  and  it  was  one  o'clock 
when  wc  crawled  up  the  bank  and  discovered  a  cabin 
which  I  knew  must  be  the  one  where  "Shot'  had  said  I 
could  get  fish. 

We  got  our  dogs  on  the  leeward  side,  and  then  stag- 
gered into  the  cabin,  covered  from  head  to  foot  b)'  ice 
and  numb  with  cold.  The  house  was  full  of  Indians,  but 
tliere  was  no  exclamation  of  surprise  upon  our  appear- 
ance.     Half-frozen  men  are  of  too  common  occurrence  in 


BLIM>    LEADING    THE    BLIND 


69 


to 

fol- 

:ing 

<cd 

)rni 

ock 

3iii 

id  I 

tag- 
ice 
but 
car- 
ill 


the  Nortliland  to  create  comment.  They  made  way  for 
us  at  the  iire,  of  which  we  did  not  immediately  avail  our- 
selves— for  we  both  had  frozen  ears  and  noses — and  they 
pushed  the  teakettle  nearer  the  glowing  coals ;  but  no 
one  uttered  a  sounil.  though  they  eyed  me  with  ill-con- 
cealed curiosity.  Hy-and-by.  when  we  had  thawed  out, 
John  and  I  drank  tea  and  ale  a  slice  of  bacon  from  our 
scanty  stock,  and  then  I  signed  him  to  get  fish  for  the 
dogs;  but  much  talking  was  followed  only  by  sullen  si- 
lence, and  no  fish  were  forthcoming.  Fish  we  must  have. 
As  I  sat  pondering  over  the  situation  I  discovered  a  fiddle 
hanging  against  the  wall,  and  thought  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity offered  of  trying  the  power  of  music  to  soothe  the 
savage  breast,  so  1  handed  the  instrument  to  John,  whom 
I  had  heard  play  at  La  Biche.  and  what  with  his  fiddling 
and  my  distribution  of  tobacco,  it  was  not  very  long  be- 
fore we  had  the  Indians  jabbering  again,  and  two  days' 
fish  for  the  dogs. 

The  wind  was  still  howling  and  the  snow  falling  when 
we  started  on  an  hour  later,  against  the  protestations  oi 
the  Indians,  who  wanted  us  and  our  tea  and  tobacco  to 
remain  overnight ;  but  our  supplies  were  too  low  to  war- 
rant their  consumption  in  idleness,  and  we  had  put  an- 
other eight  or  nine  miles  behind  us  before  we  made  a 
wretched  camp  in  the  muskeg,  with  scarcely  wot)d  enough 
to  make  a  fire,  and  not  a  level  spot  to  throw  down  our 
blankets.  It  cleared  up  during  the  night,  and  when  we 
broke  camp  the  next  morning  at  four  the  moon  shone  as 
serenely  a>  though  it  hail  not  yielded  to  a  greater  and 
fiercer  power  the  night  before.  Hefore  daybreak  the  trail 
ran  into  some  rather  opeii  woods,  through  which  the 
moon's  soft  light  played  with  wondrousl)-  fantastic  effect, 
and  when  the  first  streaks  of  vellow  in  the  northeast  her- 
alded the  rising  of  the  sun.  we  h.ul  left  the  shadow  of  the 


1^ 


7° 


ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO   Till':    HARKKN   GROUNDS 


n' 


•'■■  im. 


I 
i 


trees  and  were  travelling  in  the  muskeg.  I  shall  always 
remember  that  morning  as  giving  me  the  most  beautiful 
picture  I  ever  beheld  in  Nature's  album  :  the  sun  coming 
up  on  my  right,  the  moon  going  down  on  my  left — one 
bursting  forth  in  all  his  golden  splendor,  while  the  other 
slowly  withdrew  her  silvery  light.  And  between  and  far 
below  the  two  heavenly  rivals  plodded  John  and  the  dogs 
and  I,  footsore  and  hungry,  but  appreciative. 

I  was  destined  to  be  brought  to  earth  very  suddenly  and 
somewhat  ingloriously,  for  the  sun  had  but  just  dispelled 
the  gray  gloom  of  early  morning,  and  I  was  clipping  along 
at  a  merry  gait  across  the  deadly  muskeg,  with  a  large  lake 
in  sight,  and  John  and  the  dogs  not  far  behind,  when  down 
I  tumbled  in  a  heap  with  a  sprained  ankle.  Sitting  in  the 
snow  chafing  mj'  ankle  was  not  going  to  bring  us  food  nor 
get  me  to  the  Barren  Grounds,  so  I  wound  moose-skin 
tightly  about  the  injured  part,  and  took  my  place  again 
before  the  dogs.  At  first  I  could  not  stand  without  the 
aid  of  a  stout  stick,  and  we  made  headway  so  slowly  that 
after  a  few  miles  I  threw  away  my  crutch,  and  in  a  deter- 
mination to  try  the  power  of  mind  over  matter  limped  on. 

I  should  not  advise  Christian  scientists  to  put  their 
faith  to  such  a  test ;  nn  convert  was  e\  cr  mort  open  to 
conviction  than  I — spirit  willing,  mind  receptive,  but  the 
flesh  so  mo'^tally  weak  that  every  time  I  put  down  my  left 
foot  it  gave  way  to  thi  knee.  And  so,  faith  failing,  I 
vowed  to  get  on  in  the  onlj- way  remaining.  After  a  while 
the  pain  grew  dulLcJ,  and.  my  leg  giving  under  me,  I  dis- 
covered the  tight  binding  and  the  cold  had  frozen  the 
fle-1i  As  I  could  not  navigate  without  the  support  of  the 
mo«»se-skin  binding,  and  a  frozen  aiikle,  though  less  pain- 
ful, held  mc  up  not  so  well  as  a  twisted  one,  I  was  there- 
after occupied  quite  as  much  in  keeping  that  ankle  alive  in 
all  its  painful  sensitiveness  as  1  was  in  keeping  it  going  at 


liLIM)    LllADINC;    Tin-:    I'.l.IM) 


71 


all.  Wc  held  our  way,  however,  nnd  the  lake  I  had  sighted 
proved  to  be  Hig  White  I'ish,  where  I  *raded  some  tobacco 
for  fish  for  the  dogs,  but  could  get  notic  lo  eke  out  the  lit- 
tle bacon  now  left  us. 

Here  1  had  my  first  view  of  the  manner  in  which  these 
fish  are  hung  upon  stagings — first  to  dry,  subsequently  to 


i 


1 


-^/^^'^le.TrfM^fiii^v 


nRVINC,    FISH — llIE    STAI'IK.    I-OOD   Ol'    MAN    AM  >    DOG 


in 
lat 


i 


I 


freeze,  and  ever  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  the  .ilways  half- 
starved  dogs.  There  are  other  stagings,  combining  larder 
and  storehouse  for  the  Indian,  and  mnrc  necessarj-  than 
his  lodge,  where  he  puts  hi-^  meat,  fresh  pelts.  snow-slidCs. 
;unl  sledges.  .Snow-shoes  and  sledges  do  not  sound  pala- 
table, but  the  caribou-skill  lacings  of  the  former  and  moose 
wrapper  and  lines  of  the  latter  make  quite  a  succulent 
dish,  as  meals  go  in  this  land  of  feast  or  famine.  I{,ver)- 
Indian  cabin  or  K  ilge  has  its  staging,  and  all  things  eata- 
ble are  hung  upon  it  for  safet\-.  And  it  is  here  the  dogs 
do  congregate  to  \oiee  tiieir  iuinger  in  momnfu!  howling. 


'i  I. 


'  1- '. 


ON"    SNOW- SHOES   TO   THE    BARKEN    GROUNDS 


ii 


;t^   1. 


1: 


iv, 


and  vent  their  frenzied  disappointment  in  furious  fighting. 
Indian  dogs  spend  most  of  their  time  fighting ;  when  it  is 
not  one  anotlier,  it  is  against  death  by  starvation. 

If  I  failed  of  increasing  our  supphes  at  this  settlement^ 
I  did  get  a  map,  which  at  least  aimed  to  show  me  the  way 
to  plenty.  It  was  a  puzzling  creation,  that  map,  which 
one  of  the  Indians  drew  in  my  note-book  to  give  us  some 
idea  of  the  direction  of  the  trail  across  the  six  lakes  that 
lay  between  us  and  the  next  Indian  camp  on  White  P'ish 
Lake.  Once  at  White  Fish  Lake,  and  we  had  but  fifteen 
miles  to  John  MacDonald's,  on  Big  Jack  Fish  Lake,  the 
McMurray  fishery,  and  home  of  one  of  the  best-known 
voyagciirs  in  the  country.  But  Rig  Jack  Fish  Lake  was 
two  days'  travel  away,  and  meanwhile  my  ankle  made  life 
intolerable,  and  the  map  proved  more  maddening  than  the 
fifteen  puzzle.  We  made  only  seven  miles  the  afternoon 
of  the  day  I  sprained  my  ankle ;  we  had  covered  twenty 
up  to  noon  ;  but  after  my  rest  I  could  barely  move  along, 
and  besides  we  were  continually  falling  foul  of  trails, 
which  appeared  coming  from  everywhere  and  went  no- 
where. All  this  and  the  following  day  we  travelled  over 
muskeg,  particularly  severe  on  me  now,  with  an  ankle  so 
tender,  and  really  only  one  foot  with  which  to  feel  the 
road.  liut,  after  all.  the  muskeg  was  kinder  to  us  than  the 
lakes,  for  when  we  reached  these  we  invariably  lost  the 
trail,  to  find  and  as  speedily  lose  it  again,  while  it  was  ab- 
solutely impossible  to  judge  from  its  direction  where  it 
eventually  left  the  lake.  Indians  never  by  any  chance 
travel  straight.  Thoughout  the  (about)  900  miles  of  trail 
I  followed  from  Edmonton  to  Fort  Resolution,  on  Great 
Slave  Lake,  there  is  but  the  single  exception  of  the  Slave 
Lake  portage  ;  for  the  rest,  it  looks  as  though  the  original 
traveller  had  sat  up  all  night  at  Edmonton  with  a  "  sick 
friend  "  and  a  barrel,  and  then  started  to  walk  home.     At 


fl  ■ 


.n- 


\is-m 


■  .MT*fJ»i'-«^?  ■ 


BLIND    LKADINi;    IIIE   BLIND 


73 


i 


* 

I 


best  its  windiiiifs  arc  hard  to  follow,  but  when  one  ma\- 
advance  only  by  fcclin<^,  its  difficulties  become  tenfold, 
and  yet  it  is  remarkable  how  skilled  one  becomes  in  this 
method  of  procedure.  I  <^rew  sufificiently  expert  after  a 
time,  and  when  there  was  good  bottom  to  the  trail,  to  fol- 
low it  runniiiL;,  about  a  five-mile-per-hour  gait,  though 
there  was  literally  no  indication  on  the  snow's  surface  of 
a  trail  beneath. 

Added  to  the  misery  of  bodily  ailment,  the  map  dis- 
tracted me  by  its  deceptions.  The  lengths  of  lines 
drawn  by  flie  Indian  to  represent  the  portages  between 
the  lakes  gave  no  indication  of  the  comparative  distances. 
The  first  "  line  "  was  short,  and  we  covered  it  in  a  couple 
of  hours;  the  ne.\t  one  was  about  the  same  length,  but 
we  were  half  a  day  crossing  the  country  between  the  two 
lakes  it  joined  ;  the  third  line  was  fully  four  times  as  long 
as  the  longer  of  the  other  two,  yet  we  were  only  half  an 
hour  going  from  end  to  end  of  it. 

And  every  little  while,  when  a  lost  or  blind  trail  dis- 
mayed us,  and  we  cast  about  to  find  our  true  course,  we 
looked  at  each  other,  John  and  I,  and  pitied  one  another 
for  living.  We  could  not  exchange  ideas;  we  could  not 
have  the  poor  comfort  of  debating  the  situation  ;  we 
could  only  make  a  few  imperfect  signs,  which  expressed 
little  to  the  point,  and  seemed  frivolous  in  the  face  of  a 
situation  so  desperate.  Once  our  leading  dog,  who  is  al- 
ways called  a  foregoer,  found  the  trail  on  the  lake,  and 
showed  remarkable  sagacity,  which,  by-the-way,  we  trusted 
to  our  sorrow  later.  This  time,  however,  he  came  to  our 
rescue  when  we  were  utterly  lost ;  he  ceased  following 
the  imaginary  trail  I  was  hobbling  along,  and,  after  a  few 
casts,  settled  to  a  steady  gait  in  another  direction.  John 
also  thought  he  had  a  trail,  which  he  endeavored  to  per- 
suade the  dogs  into  following,  but  the   foregoer  held  his 


74 


OX    SNO\V-SIIOi:S    TO    THl':    HARRliN    GROUNDS 


P 


)  ■! 


way,  and  when  wc  investigated  we  found  he  had  rcallj' 
the  only  tra'l  of  the  three.  The  snow  was  deeper  on  this 
part  of  our  route,  which  made  the  walking  yet  harder; 
but  by  one  way  or  another  we  finally  crossed  the  six 
lakes  shown  on  the  Indian's  map,  and  came  to  White 
Fish  Lake.  Mere  we  managed  to  get  just  a  meal  of  fish 
for  the  dogs,  but  none  for  ourselves,  to  which,  however, 
we  had  become  accustomed.  We  rested  two  hours,  while 
I  bathed  my  feet,  much  to  the  wonderment  of  the  natives, 
to  whom  it  seemed  an  unaccountable  waste  of  energy, 
and  rubbed  my  ankle  with  some  of  the  mustang  liniment 
I  had  fetched  along  from  La  IJiche.  There  were  but 
fourteen  miles  between  us  and  John  MacDonald's  cabin, 
on  Big  Jack  Fish  Lake,  when  we  set  out  again  at  two 
o'clock  ;  and  the  prospect  of  talking  again,  and  having  a 
roof  over  my  head,  nerved  me  to  faster  pace.  I  was  des- 
tined to  see  neither  INLicDonald  nor  his  house  that  night. 
Some  Indians  had  recently  travelled  between  the  two 
lakes,  so  there  was  a  faint  trail,  which  we  followed  at  so 
good  a  gait  it  was  not  dark  when  we  came  to  wheie  the 
road  led  out  on  to  Big  Jack  Fish  Lake.  But  by  this  time 
a  fierce  storm  had  set  in,  with  snow  which  completeh* 
shut  off  ou-  'ew  twenty  feet  distant,  and  wind  that  swept 
away  llie  last  -semblance  of  a  trail.  I  tried  to  feel  out  the 
road,  then  J'  lin  tried,  and  then  we  gave  the  foregocr  his 
head  ;  and.  sure  enough,  he  went  off  at  a  rate  which  con- 
vinced us  he  must  have  found  something.  And  so  he 
had  ;  but  we  were  not  seeking  the  road  he  found.  We 
travelled  about  ten  miles  to  get  that  knowledge. 

There  is  a  point  which  makes  out  from  the  north  shore 
of  the  lake  and  divides  it  into  two  large  bays.  MacDon- 
ald's cabin  is  on  the  western  bay.  I  supposed  John  knew 
it  was.  We  had  held  an  animated  though  not  entirely 
successful  c<invcrsation  at  White   I'ish,  which  I  intended 


m^ 


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ni.iM)  i,i:Ai)iN(i  Till-;  iu.im)  77 

should  express  inj-  wish  that  he  learn  the  distance,  etc. 
The  Cree  for  "How  far  is  it  ^"  is  "  Wah-lic-o-chc'  \  for 
"  It  is  far,"  you  drop  only  the  "  c/u\"  and  say  "  W'n/i-hc-d." 
But  I  was  not  then  so  learned.  So  I  had  asked  Jolin, 
"  Wah-lu-o-clic — MacDonald's?"  and  John  had  replied— 
after  some  discussion  witli  the  other  Indians — "  Wah-lic-or 
I  supposed  him  correcting  me,  and  as  this  particular  Cree 
(juery  was  xv^y  piece  dc  resistance,  ''Wn/i-fic-o-c/ic'" — with  an 
accent  on  the  "  c/ic" — again  resounded  in  the  chilly  air. 
and  again  he  retorted,  "  Wn/i-kc-o."  Then  we  i<.'ah-lic-o-chc\i 
and  5:cv?//-//r-<'"// until  each  subsided  in  silence  and  disgust 
at  the  other's  stupidity. 

And  so  we  travelled  down  the  eastern  bay  of  Hig  Jack- 
Fish  Lake. 

It  got  dark  b)'  the  time  we  were  well  out  on  the  lake  ; 
we  could  not  have  seen  our  way  in  broad  daylight,  be- 
cause the  snow  was  thicklj-  falling  anil  the  wind  savagely 
blowing  as  we  trustingly  followed  our  foregocr.  Hy-and- 
by  I  decided  wc  must  be  going  wrong,  for  I  thought  the 
cabin  could  not  be  so  far  off  as  we  had  come,  and  I  got 
John  and  the  dogs  turned  about  to  go  hack  and  into  the 
western  ba\-.  The  storm  was  now  scjuarely  in  our  teeth, 
and  the  dogs  would  not  face  it.  The)'  kept  turning  and 
entangling  themselves  in  the  harness,  while  we  were  faint 


my    ankle 


with    hunger   and    benumbed   'vith    cold,  and 
seemed  bursting  with  pain. 

I  made  the  nearest  approach  I  could  in  the  storm  to  a 
bee-line  for  the  point,  and  then  followed  it  around.  I 
had  not  the  remotest  idea  where  MacDonald's  house  was, 
but  I  knew  I  should  have  to  find  it  in  the  morning  to  get 
my  bearings;  so  after  we  had  gone  about  as  far  down  the 
western  bay  as  we  had  into  the  eastern,  wc  camped  under 
a  pine-tree,  where  wood  was  plentiful,  and  ate  a  piev.e  of 
bacon    each   and    drank  a  cup  of  tea,  after  a  hard  day's 


^1: 


ill 


7« 


ON    SNOW-SHOKS   TO   Till;    IJAKRKN    GROUNDS 


r 


!;l'i 


(:. 


tramp — which  my  pedometer  rej^istered  as  forty- four 
miles.  Our  dogs  ate  the  last  of  their  fish,  John  and  I 
were  on  half-allowance  of  the  poor  rations  we  had,  we 
were  lost,  and  it  did  not  seem  as  if  my  ankle  would  per- 
mit me  to  walk  another  step.  The  world  was  not  very 
bright  when  we  camped. 

As  we  sat  silently  drinking  our  tea  we  heard  something 
approaching,  and  instantly  alert,  with  that  protective  and 
hunter's  instinct  which  comes  to  the  traveller  of  the  wilds, 
listened  intently,  until  we  discovered  the  swishing,  grating 
of  a  snow-shoe  heel.  It  was  Kipling,  a  famous  Soto  Ind- 
ian runner,  who  had  come  to  invite  iTie  to  MacDonald's 
cabin,  where,  but  a  mile  beyond,  they  had  seen  our  camp- 
fire.  James  Spencer,  the  Hudson's  Hay  Company  officer 
in  charge  of  ^NIcMurray,  had  brought  thus  far  on  its  jour- 
ney the  one  win':er  packet  that  reaches  the  railroad  from 
this  isolated  wilderness,  and  was  returning  the  next  morn- 
ing early.  Here  was  good  news  indeed,  and  good  luck — 
the  first  of  my  trip.  Hut  John  had  stuck  by  me,  and  I 
would  not  leave  him  on  the  conclusion  of  so  hard  a  day ; 
therefore  I  sent  my  grateful  ilianks  to  Spencer,  saying  I 
should  be  on  hand  the  following  morning.  And  so  the 
clouds  rolled  away,  and  the  worry  within  and  the  storm 
without  ceased  as  I  lay  down  to  sleep  that  night. 

It  was  a  very  lively  scene  at  MacDonald's  next  morning, 
and  a  most  interesting  one  to  me ;  for  the  packet  was 
starting  on  its  last  stage,  and  as  to  carry  it  is  one  of  the 
few  honors  in  the  country,  the  dogs  were  handsomer  and 
more  gayly  harnessed  than  any  1  had  seen. 

It  was  only  seventy  miles  to  McMurray,  but  the  two 
days  we  consumed  in  getting  there  were  most  trying, 
and  I  shall  never  forget  the  ten-mile  crossing  of  Swan 
Lake  the  '^••st  morning.  We  camped  for  dinner  midway, 
on  an   island,  but   it  seemed  as  though   I   should  never 


I  Swan 

Iway, 

Inever 


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Hiotographic 

Sciences 

Corporalion 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  873-4503 


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BLIND    LEADING    THE   BLIND 


8l 


reach  it ;  and  a  mirage  added  confusion  by  placing  it  now 
near  by  and  then  far  away,  and  all  the  time  the  hard  ice 
made  running  particularly  torturing  to  my  ankle.  The 
tea  was  made  by  the  time  I  finally  put  my  foot  on  that 
island.  It  was  exceedingly  hard  going  for  men  and  dogs 
all  the  way  to  McMurray,  for  the  trail  led  down  Clear 
Water  River,  on  which  the  supplies  in  early  days  were 
brought  into  the  country,  and  the  snow  was  deep.  We 
were  all  worn,  and  I  was  thankful  indeed  when  the  light 
of  Spencer's  cabin  pierced  the  darkness  and  I  knew  I  had 
put  240  miles  of  my  long  journey  behind  me. 

How  I  relished  a  good  wash  and  a  satisfying  meal  I  shall 
not  attempt  to  say ;  few  of  my  readers  have  gone  with- 
out either  or  both,  and  could  not  appreciate  my  feelings. 
Nor  could  I  adequately  express  my  gratitude  to  Spencer 
and  his  wife  for  their  unceasing  kindness.  I  spent  one 
day  at  McMurray,  which  is  located  at  the  junction  of  the 
Clear  Water  ind  Athabasca  rivers,  doctoring  my  ankle 
and  awaiting  fresh  dogs  and  guides ;  for  here  John  and 
his  dogs,  after  a  rest,  turned  back.  If  Spencer  had  been 
of  Gairdner's  sort  I  should  have  been  delayed  again,  for 
none  of  the  Indians  took  kindly  to  the  trip  on  to  Chipe- 
wyan,  the  next  post.  Those  that  had  promised  backed 
out,  and  finally  Spencer  turned  over  to  me  the  train 
which  had  brought  the  packet  from  Chipewyan  to  Mc- 
Murray. There  were  four  good  strong  dogs;  P'ranqois,  a 
French  half-breed,  one  of  the  best  dog-drivers  and  runners 
in  the  land;  and  "Old"  Jacob,  a  Soto  Indian,  to  break 
trail,  who  as  young  Jacob  was  famous  for  strength  and 
speed,  and  even  now  could  beat  all  but  the  very  best  on 
snow-shoes.  Both  could  talk  and  understand  enough  Eng- 
lish to  make  some  sort  of  conversation  possible,  and  both 
knew  the  road,  so  that  the  clouds  revealed  only  their  silver 
lining  as  we  started  out  from  McMurray. 


J 


82 


ON  SNOW-SHOES  TO  THE  BARREN  GROUNDS 


li 


^     J 


11 

'a 


I  was  not  seeking  trouble,  but  it  came  just  the  same. 
I  had  never  worn  moccasins  until  I  left  La  Hiche.  I  had 
never  used  the  web  snow-shoe  until  I  left  McMurray,  and 
therefore  the  second  day  out  my  feet  were  so  blistered 
and  lacerated  by  the  lacings  that  blood  dyed  my  duffel, 
and  walking  was  agony.  Hitherto  I  had  been  counting 
my  progress  by  days ;  now  I  reckoned  by  the  fires,  of 
which  we  made  three  daily,  when  we  drank  tea  and  my 
misery  enjoyed  a  brief  respite.  It  was  cold,  bitterly  cold, 
and  the  wind  swept  up  the  Athabasca  River,  down  which 
we  travelled,  apparently  coming  directly  from  the  north 
pole.  But  neither  wind  nor  painful  travelling  nor  hunger, 
which  wo  experienced  the  last  two  days,  delayed  us,  and 
when  we  finally  reached  the  shores  of  Lake  Athabasca,  and 
viewed  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  fortlike  post  four 
miles  away,  it  was  like  a  sight  of  the  promised  land.  I 
had  been  twenty  days  on  the  road,  and  come  about  580 
miles  from  the  railroad,  so  that,  what  with  lacerated  feet, 
twisted  ankle,  and  fatigue,  I  was  pretty  well  used  up  when 
1  passed  through  the  gateway  of  Fort  Chipewyan. 


ime. 
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^  ..^.-i,^  .>,i^-.*!r(*»SSt»*»S#4( 


VIII 


THE   NORTHLAND    INDIAN  AS   HE   IS 


Chipewvan  has  many  claims  to  distinction.  Built  sub- 
stantially upon  one  of  the  numerous  rocky  points  which 
break  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  Athabasca 
Lake's  north-shore  line,  it  is  the  most  picturesquely  situ- 
ated and  most  populous  oasis  in  this  silent  white  country. 
It  is  headquarters  of  one  of  the  four  districts  into  which 
this  vast  fur-bearing  land  of  one  million  square  miles  is  di- 
vided by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company ;  the  chief  forward- 
ing-point  for  the  merchandise  which  the  company  sends 
in  for  trade,  and  the  fur  the  Indians  send  out  as  pay;  a 
general  distributing  post-office  of  the  four  yearly  mails 
which  reach  this  land,  where  man  is  but  a  mere  track  upon 
the  snow,  and  not  above  one  hundred  of  the  roughly  ap- 
proximated ten  thousand  read  English  writing.  It  is  the 
most  important  Northland  mission  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic Oblates  Fathers,  and  it  is  practically  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  Cree  and  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
Montagnaise  Indian  family,  which  in  its  various  branches 
spreads  towards  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

Nothing  commanded  my  earnest  attention  more  com- 
pletely than  this  mission  of  the  Oblates  Fathers,  with  its 
bishop,  three  brothers,  six  nuns,  forty  school-children,  and 
a  saw-mill.  Here,  hundreds  of  miles  from  skilled  labor, 
they  have  whipped  out  the  planks  for  their  church,  in- 
vented a  written  language,  somewhat  after  the  Egyptian 


E/  , 


h  1 


i 


86        ON  SNOW-SHOES  TO  THE   BARREN  GROUNDS 

in  character,  taught  it  with  slight  modifications  to  both 
Chipewyan  and  Cree,  printed  and  bound  the  Testaments 
and  the  Bible  for  distribution,  and  gone  out  into  the 
woods  to  hunt  their  meat,  and  to  suffer  from  cold,  perhaps 


Caribuu-Hatcr 


YcUow-KnIfe 


Caribou-Uiter 


TYI'ES    OF     NORTHLAND    INDIANS 
From  a  Photograph  by  Mr.  Whitney 

to  starve,  along  with  the  Indians  to  whom  they  would 
preach  the  Word  of  God.  I  care  not  whether  one's  form 
of  belief  be  for  or  against  the  doctrine  preached  by  these 
men,  one  must  be  petty  indeed  who  cannot  rise  above 
religious  prejudices  and  respect  these  workers,  that,  east 
and  west,  north  and  south,  have  gone  far  in  advance  of 
the  pioneer,  far  beyond  the  plaudits  of  civilization,  to 
cany  their  faith  into  the  very  heart  of  the  wilderness. 

1  am  sure  Dr.  W.  M.  Rlackay,  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany officer  in  charge,  and  his  right  and  left  bowers,  "  Ned  " 
Camsell  and  "  Sam  "  Emerson,  would  consider  that  I  had 


THE  NORTHLAND  INDIAN  AS   HE   IS 


«r 


slighted  Chipewyan  if  I  failed  to  record  the  further  cmi- 
nence  it  enjoys  in  having  two  streets.  I  was  never  able, 
unaided,  to  discover  more  than  the  one  which  separates 
the  post's  dozen  log  cabins  from  the  lake,  but  that  may 
have  been  due  to  the  deflection  of  my  compass  needle. 
At  all  events,  after  McMurray,  with  its  four  cabins,  it 
seemed  metropolitan,  though  of  its  "census"  of  four  hun- 
dred men,  women,  and  children  only  a  small  percentage  is 
in  actual  residence.     This  is  equally  true  of  all  the  posts. 

The  real  dwellers  within  the  settlements  are  a  compara- 
tive handful,  comprising  chiefly  the  mission  people,  the 
company  servants,  and  a  few  "  freemen,"  as  those  who 
have  served  their  five  years'  enlistment  and  set  up  a  little 
independency  of  labor  are  called.  Those  that 
live  within  the  company's  gates  are  chiefly 
half-breeds.  In  summer  they  catch  and  dry 
the  fish  which  forms  the  chief  article  of  food 
for  men  and  dogs,  or  work  on  the  company 
flatboats ;  and  in  winter  they  spend  the  short 
days  in  "  tripping,"  and  the  long  nights  in 
smoking  and  talking  about  their  dogs,  or  in 
dancing  and  sleeping.  They  have  no  other  di- 
versions ;  no  in-door  games,  no  out-door  sports. 
Dancing  and  sleeping  are  the  beginning  and 
ending  of  their  recreation,  and  I  would  not 
venture  an  opinion  as  to  the  more  popular; 
certainly  they  have  an  abnormal  capacity  for 
either. 

This  applies  to  the  men.  Life  is  a  more  serious  affair 
for  the  women.  They  too  sleep  and  dance  and  smoke, 
but  their  sleeping  comes  as  a  well-earned  respite  after  the 
day's  toil ;  their  dancing  has  the  outward  appearance  of  a 
sacrifice,  to  which  they  are  silently  resigned,  and  smoking 
is  an  aLCompaniment  to  work  rather  than  a  diversion  in 


MAN  S   SIIOK, 

Canadian 

Snow-Slioe 

Club, 

3'<;  feet  long 


\\ 


h  ' 


18 


■ 


88 


ON   snow-shoes  to    rilE   IJARREN  GROUNDS 


itself.  The  woman  is  the  country  drudge.  Her  work  is 
never  finished.  She  chops  tlie  firewood,  dries  the  fish  and 
meat,  snares  rabbits,  and  carries  her  catch  into  tlie  post 
on  her  back ;  scrapes  and  tans  the  moose  and  caribou 
hides,  from  the  hitter  of  which  she  afterwards  makes  /xi- 
bichc  (Northland  string)  by  cutting  it  into  strips  an 
eighth  of  an  inch  wide ;  laces  the  snow-shoes,  makes  and 
embroiders  with  beads  the  mittens,  moccasins,  and  leg- 
gings ;  yields  the  lion's  share  of  the  scanty  larder  to  her 
husband  when  he  is  at  home  luxuriating  in  smoke  and 
sleep,  and,  when  he  is  away,  gives  her  children  her  tiny  prct 
(allowance)  of  fish  and  goes  hungry  without  a  murmur. 

This  is  the  woman  of  the  post.  She  of  the  woods,  the 
full-blooded  squaw,  and  there  are  few  Indians  that  ever 
take  up  a  permanent  abode  in  the  settlement,  does  all 
this  and  more.  In  addition  to  chopping  the  firewood,  she 
seeks  and  hauls  it ;  not  only  dries,  but  catches  the  fish  ; 
goes  after  and  quarters  and  brings  in  the  game  her  master 
has  killed  ;  breaks  camp,  and  pitches  it  again  where  the 
husband,  who  has  gone  on  ahead  with  no  load  but  his  gun 
and  no  thought  except  for  the  hunt,  and  whose  trail  she 
has  followed,  indicates  by  sticking  up  brush  in  the  snow. 
When  there  is  plenty  she  makes  her  meal  on  that  which 
her  lord  leaves,  and  when  there  is  little  she  starves,  along 
with  her  children  and  the  dogs. 

When  in  her  periodical  state  she  dare  not  cross  the 
snow-shoe  tracks  of  the  men,  nor  even  follow  in  their  steps. 
She  must  make  her  own  path.  And  when  she  gives  birth 
to  her  child  it  is  in  a  lodge  by  herself,  unattended  and 
apart  from  the  others.  If  at  the  time  she  is  with  a  travel- 
ling band  she  steps  aside  to  pitch  her  lodge,  and  next 
morning  mayhap,  with  the  new-born  babe  added  to  her 
other  burdens,  she  goes  on  after  the  Indians  that  have  not 
tarried. 


I 

> 


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p) 

I 

s 

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c 
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1 


i 


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■.I- 


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If 


!E 


THE    NOkTHI-ANI)   INDIAN   AS    HE    IS 


9« 


The  Indi.m  is  the  sybarite  of  the  Northland,  and  the 
only  genuine  socialist  on  earth.  He  holds  all  the  posses- 
sions of  his  country  equally  with  his  tribe,  feasts  and  fasts 
and  sorrows  and  rejoices  in  common,  and  roams  where  his 
legs  carry  and  his  gun  provides.  When  tliere  is  abun- 
dance he  smokes  his  pipe  in  happy  indolence,  and  his 
wife  does  the  work;  when  there  is  no  meat  for  the  kettle 
he  shoulders  his  gun  and  goes  out  into  the  woods,  leaving 
care  and  hunger  at  home  with  the  squaw.  Hut  he  does 
not  invariably  escape  hunger.  It  is  ever  a  feast  or  a 
famine  with  him,  and  it  might  always  be  a  feast  were  he 
not  so  improvident  and  lazy.  Clothing  and  food  are  at 
his  very  door.  In  the  rivers  and  lakes  there  is  fish  in 
great  quantity  and  variety  ;  along  their  banks,  fisher, 
otter,  mink,  beaver,  and  muskrat ;  and  in  the  forests, 
moose,  caribou,  bear,  lynx,  fox,  wolf,  wolverene,  marten, 
ermine,  and  rabbits — to  say  nothing  of  the  early  spring 
and  autumn  migrations  of  ducks  and  geese,  the  packs  of 
ptarmigan,  which  in  their  changing  plumage  of  brown  and 
white  are  to  be  seen  summer  and  winter,  and  the  several 
other  species  of  the  grouse  family  that  may  be  found  the 
greater  part  of  the  year.  There  is  no  occasion  for  an 
Indian  to  starve  in  this  country,  if  he  keeps  out  of  the 
Barren  Grounds  ;  but  hunting  demands  skill,  of  which  he 
has  less  than  any  other  red  man  I  ever  knew,  and  a  never- 
failing  cache  presupposes  foresight,  of  which  he  has  none 
— so  that,  in  truth,  he  fasts  more  often  than  he  feasts. 

Snow-shoe  running,  packing,  and  canoeing  are  the  three 
most  resourceful  fields  of  the  Indian  story-teller;  and  o; 
the  three,  running  affords  him  greatest  scope  for  his  pe- 
culiar imagination. 

The  Indian  of  the  Northland  is  neither  an  ingenious 
nor  a  picturesque  Munchausen.  He  is  just  a  plain  liar, 
who  seems   not  even  to  count  on  the  credulity  of  his 


92  ON  SNOW-SHOES   TO  THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 

hearer  for  acceptance  of  his  tales.  He  lies  by  choice 
rather  than  from  necessity,  and  should  the  necessity  occur 
he  makes  a  virtue  of  his  lying.  Nor  is  he  abashed  if  dis- 
covered. Really  I  believe  he  views  every  plain  statement 
as  a  lost  opportunity.  Every  camp-fire,  every  meeting  at 
the  post,  invariably  becomes  an  excuse  for  the  discussion 


THE  NORTHLAND  SHOEMAKKR 


'i   1 


>'! 


i^' 


of  dogs  and  the  recital  of  astonishing  feats  of  snow-shoe 
running.  The  fact  that  no  one  of  the  assemblage  ever 
did  or  ever  could  perform  the  extraordinary  feats  re- 
counted does  not  detract  a  particle  from  the  quality  of 
the  story  or  its  enjoyment  by  the  listeners.  It's  a  case  of 
the  man  with  the  last  story  having  the  best  of  it.  Still, 
with  all  his  vainglorious  talk,  the  Indian  is  an  unhesitat- 
ing admirer  of  real  prowess,  and  good  runners  are  indeed 


THE   NORTHLAND   INDIAN  AS   HE    IS 


93 


plentiful  in  this  country,  where  shanks'  mare  is  the  only 
mount. 

To  be  a  good  dog-driver  and  to  run  forty  miles  a  day  is 
to  be  a  great  man  in  this  land  of  vast  distances.     There 
are  instances  where  men  have  gone  farther,  but  in  most 
cases   the   going   lias   been    exceptional,   or   the   "day" 
stretched  far  into  the  night.     In  my  effort  to  obtain  au- 
thenticated information  on  big  runs  I  found  the  "  day  " 
most  elastic,  extending,  in  fact,  the  full  twenty-four  hours, 
from  midnight  to  midnight,  and   the  "running"  of   the 
man  to  include  riding  on  the  sledge  now  and  then  when 
the  going  was  extra  good.     The  best  day  of  actual  run- 
ning I  was  able  to  corroborate  was  sixty  miles,  done  be- 
tween 6  A.M.  and  5.30  P.M.  by  Alexander  Linkletter,  an 
English-Cree   half-breed  now  at   Chipewyan,  who  made 
two  fires  en  route.     Another  half-breed   covered  eighty 
miles  between   midnight  and  nine   o'clock   of   the    next 
night,  and  an  Indian  went  seventy  miles  between  3  a.m. 
and  8  p.m.,  but  these  are  notable  chiefly  because  of  the 
dogs'  endurance,  for  both  men  rode  most  of  the  distance, 
and  neither  approaches   the  performance  of    Linkletter, 
who  ran  every  foot  of  the  way. 

The  condition  of  the  going  makes  so  great  a  difference 
in  travelling  that  thirty  miles  on  one  occasion  might  eas- 
ily be  a  more  notable  performance  than  fifty  miles  on 
another.  Taking  the  average  conditions  of  tripping,  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  miles  is  considered  a  fair  day,  thirty- 
five  miles  a  good  day,  and  forty  a  big  day's  work.  The 
voyageiir  considers  he  is  travelling  well  if  he  makes  two 
fires  during  the  day,  at  which  he  drinks  tea,  and  sleeps 
thirty  or  thirty-five  miles  nearer  his  destination  every 
night.  Spring  is  popularly  spoken  of  as  the  time  when 
"  the  days  are  long  and  the  dogs  go  well,"  and  you  travel 
longer  and  farther  each  day.     But  as  a  matter  of  fact  the 


I 


i  ^ 


■  'ni 


J. 


m 


#  I 


Mi 


Jti 


i^ 


94 


ON  SNOW-SHOES   TO  THE  BARREN    GROUNDS 


season  has  little  to  do  with  the  length  of  time  spent  on 
the  road  if  you  are  making  a  long  journey  and  time  is  an 
object.  Indeed,  to  me  the  days  always  seemed  long 
enough,  and  the  dogs  to  go  well  enough.     In  winter  you 

start  at  three,  make  your  first  fire  at 
seven,  start  again  at  eight,  which  is 
just  about  daybreak,  having  a  second 
fire  at  eleven,  and  camp  at  three, 
which  gives  about  an  hour  before 
dark  to  cut  a  supply  of  firewood.  In 
spn'ng  it  is  daylight  long  before  you 
strrt  at  six,  and  long  after  you  camp 
at  eight ;  in  fact,  in  May  I  wrote  in 
my  note-book  frequently  at  ten,  and 
it  was  not  really  dark  at  midnight. 
In  midsummer  there  is  no  night,  and 
in  midwinter  the  short  days  are  of 
slight  significance  to  the  tripper,  be- 
cause the  moon  equalizes  matters  by 
shining  full  throughout  the  period  in 
which  the  sun  shines  least, 

I  have  said  that  Chipewyan  is  the  practical  dividing- 
point  between  two  great  Indian  families,  but  the  traveller 
who  did  not  hear  their  speech,  which  is  altogether  dissimi- 
lar in  intonation  and  word,  would  not  appreciate  it.  There 
is  no  very  noticeable  outward  distinction  between  the 
Cree  and  the  Chipewyan  Indian,  except  possibly  the  face 
of  the  latter  is  broader.  Otherwise  they  have  about  the 
same  physical  characteristics-  high  cheek-bones,  large 
mouth,  African  nose,  dirty  yellowish -ochre  complexion, 
coarse,  straight  black  hair,  and  sparse  mustache  seen  occa- 
sionally. They  are  never  corpulent,  and  never  clean. 
Ethically  there  is  no  choice  between  them  :  their  capacity 
and  prejudice  for  lying  are  equal,  and  one  is  as  untrust- 


SQL'AW   LEGGING 


^ftijl, 


r^ ! 


THE    NORTHLAND    INDIAN   AS   HE   IS 


95 


worthy  as  the  other.  Generally  speaking,  neither  the  men 
nor  the  women  are  good  to  look  upon  ;  but  of  course  there 
are  exceptions  to  every  rule,  and  I  think  the  exceptions  in 
this  case  are  more  often  Cree.  The  half-breeds  are  gener- 
ally more  agreeable  to  the  eye ;  some  of  the  women  are 
even  good-looking;  and  one  of  them,  a  daughter  of  Mi- 
chael Manderville,  the  interpreter  at  Great  Slave  Lake,  has 
excellent  features,  a  sweet  expression,  and  is  quite  the 
belle  of  the  north  country,  though  the  wives  of  Spencer 
and  of  Chipewyan  Frangois  press  her  very  closely  for  the 
honor. 

As  to  philological  differences,  they  are  too  intricate  to 
understand  without  long  study,  and  too  many  for  exploita- 
tion here.  It  will  answer  our  purpose  to  know  that  the 
Cree  nation  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  Lenni-Lennappe 
family,  itself  the  most  widely  distributed  of  the  three 
great  divisions — Floridean,  Iroquois,  and  Lenni-Lennappe. 


M 


PAPPOOSE   IN    ITS   MOSS   BAG 


The  Cree  is  really  a  plains  Indian,  and  as  such  superior 
to  the  few  of  the  family  in  the  Northland  who  are  called 
Wood  Cree.  The  Tenti,  or  Montagnaise,  is  the  great  nation 
which  spreads  between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  Hudson's 


96 


ON  SNOW-SHOES  TO  THE  BARREN  GROUNDS 


-  i 


u^ 


Bay,  and  extends  in  its  various  tribes  and  dialects  down  to 
the  arctic.  Of  these  tribes  the  chief  are  Chipewyan,  Yellow- 
Knives,  Dog-Ribs,  Slaveys,  Hare,  Caribou  -  Eaters,  whose 
language  has  mere  dialectic  differences.  Then  there  are 
the  Loucheux,  on  the  Mackenzie  River,  which  have  a 
more  distinct  tongue,  sharper  features,  almond-shaped 
eyes,  and  are  the  most  intelligent  and  thrifty  Indians  in 
the  country;  and  the  Eskimo,  that  never  hunt  more  than 
a  hundred  miles  south  of  the  arctic  coast,  have  their  own 
variation  of  the  Eskimo  speech,  and.  notably  enough,  av- 
erage of  greater  stature  than  is  commonly  believed  of  this 
people. 

Missionaries  have  now  reached  all  these  tribes  from  the 
different  H  -.dson's  Bay  Company  posts,  and  their  labors 
have  been  rewarded  by  the  outward  acceptance  of  their 
doctrines  by  a  large  number  of  the  Indians  that  come  into 
the  forts  to  trade.  The  French  half-breeds,  and  certainly 
seventy-five  percent,  of  the  converted  Indians,  have  adopt- 
ed the  Roman  Catholic  faith  ;  the  remainder  have  been 
won  over  to  the  Protestants.  The  most  tangible  evidences 
of  church  influence  thus  far  seen  are  in  the  very  general 
disappearance  of  the  medicine-man  and  the  suppression  of 
polygamy  and  incest.  So  far  as  I  could  learn,  the  Indians 
never  had  any  defined  worship.  Their  religion  was  and  is 
one  of  fear.  They  are  ever  propitiating  the  bad  spirits, 
the  demons  of  their  dreams,  and  the  imaginary  "  enemy" 
of  the  woods.  I  have  seen  burned  leggings,  worn-out 
moccasins,  and  broken  snow-shoes  hung  up  as  peace  sacri- 
fices to  change  bad  luck  in  hunting  or  a  head-wind  in  trip- 
ping, and  I  never  failed  to  note  the  predominant  avarice 
stronger  than  the  superstition,  as  revealed  by  the  worthless 
character  of  the  offerings.  They  lean  to  an  inferior  species 
of  "  totemism,"  although  no  religious  ceremony  was  ever 
attached  to  its  acceptance.     Any  animal  or  bird  dreamed 


tiil;  Northland  Indian  as  hi:  is 


97 


of  used  to  be,  and  is  yet  in  a  minor  degree,  taken  as  the 
dreamer's  totem.  The  medicine-man  has  gone,  but  has 
left  the  old  superstitions  and  the  pronounced  fatalism, 
which  the  missionaries  have  not  succeeded  in  destroying. 

They  conform  to  the  ceremonies  of  religion,  but  little 
of  true  Christianity  has  been  developed.     It  has  been  a 


THE   BELLE   OF  THE   NORTH  COUXTUY 


^S 

:r 
Id 


change  of  method  rather  than  of  heart.  Formcrl)-  female 
babies  were  killed  on  birth  ;  now  the}'  live  to  become 
beasts  of  burden.  Parents  used  to  be  strangled  when 
they  grew  too  old  to  seek  a  living ;  now  they  are  left  to 
slowly  starve  to  death.  In  days  gone  by  men  openly  ex- 
changed wives  for  a  shorter  or  longer  period  ;    now  the 


98 


ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO  THE  BARREN   GROUNDS 


number  of  virtuous  girls  is  very  small,  and  wise  indeed  is 
the  son  who  knows  his  father  in  this  vale  of  unconvention- 
ality.  The  dead  used  to  be  swung  in  trees  or  hung  from 
four  posts,  where  the  wind  rocked  them  in  their  eternal 
sleep ;  now  they  are  buried  in  shallow  graves,  and  the 
wolverene  guards  them  by  day  and  feeds  on  them  by 
night. 

Priests  have  not  yet  taught  the  Indians  the  Golden 
Rule,  nor  implanted  respect  for  virginity.  Chastity  is  re- 
garded as  a  virtue  to  be  honored  in  the  breach  rather  than 
in  the  observance,  and  fidelity  seems  by  no  means  essen- 
tial to  the  happiness  of  wedded  life. 

The  birth  of  "such  a  little  one"  to  the  unmarried  girl 
is  no  barrier  to  her  marital  prospects,  and  wifely  faithless- 
ness never  leads  to  any  passage  at  arms  more  serious  than 
a  little  hair  pulling.  Nor  are  the  dispositions  of  .hese 
people  amatory. 

The  men  are  impelled  by  that  instinct  of  conquest  which 
rules  in  the  male  the  world  over,  and  makes  of  him  an 
iconoclastic  and  a  selfish  brute. 

The  women,  in   their   low  plane  of  semi -civilization,, 
know  nothing  of  nature's  or  cupid's  mating,  and  yields 
from  love  of  gain  rather  than  from  warmth  of  constitu- 
tion. 

These  people  have  not  ventured  far  into  civilization. 
Take  from  the  Indian  his  copper  kettle,  steel  knife,  and 
.30-borc  muzzle-loading  gun,  in  which  he  uses  ball  in 
winter  and  shot  in  summer,  and  give  him  his  bow,  his 
birch-bark  "  rogan,"  moose-bone,  beaver-tooth,  and  flint- 
stone  knives,  and  he  is  just  about  where  he  was  when  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  brought  the  trinkets  of  the  great 
world  to  him.  Agricultural  knowledge  is  of  no  use  to 
him,  because  his  country  is  not  susceptible  of  cultivation, 
except  in  a  few  rare  and  isolated  spots.     And  there  are 


THE   NORTHLAND    INDIAN    AS   HE    IS 


99 


o 


no  native  industries  of  any  description,  no  weaving  of 
blankets,  no  making  of  jewelry  or  pottery,  absolutely  noth- 
ing beyond  some  indifferent  beading  and  porcupine-quill 
work,  which  is  done  by  several  other  tribes,  and  most 
notably  by  the  Navajos  in  New  Mexico. 

As  for  sentiment,  they  have  none  beyond  that  torpo- 
rific  bliss  caused  by  a  full  stomach.  Yes,  they  have  one 
other — fear.  They  are  abject  cowards.  In  an  earlier  chap- 
ter I  spoke  of  a  gift  of  moccasins  conveying  indication  of 
a  tender  sentiment*,  but  that  sentiment  is  r.lative.  The 
men  marry  to  have  some  one  to  make  moc- 
casins for  them,  and  the  women  marry  be- 
cause, poor  things,  they  have  little  choice 
in  the  matter,  and  that  little  probably  sug- 
gests it  is  better  to  be  the  servant  of  one 
man  than  the  diudge  of  a  family.  There 
are  no  playful  displays  of  maternal  affec- 
tion. I  think  I  saw  just  one  instance  of 
the  kind  on  my  trip ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  I  saw  one  young  mother  take  her 
crying  and  moss-bag-enveloped  baby  out 
of  the  lodge  and  stand  it  up  in  the  snow 
to  weep  itself  into  exhaustion  !  There  are 
no  gentle  words  to  convey  the  tender 
solicitudes  of  courtship,  no  terms  of  or- 
dinary politeness :  only  in  the  Loucheux  tongue  can 
thanks  be  expressed.  The  exposure  to  which  they  are 
subjected  in  their  wanderings,  and  the  withering  of  the 
famines  and  gluttony  of  the  feasts,  combine  to  break  down 
health  and  shorten  life.  And  the  greatest  blessing  they 
enjoy  probably  is  that  they  die  comparatively  young,  and 
go,  wherever  it  may  be,  to  a  place  which  they  make  sure 
cannot  be  more  barren  of  comfort  or  pleasure. 


ANCIENT  KNME 
WITH  liKAVER- 
TOOTII    DI.AOE 


I    . 


;  I 


IX 


DOGS   AND   SLEDdES 


^ 


The  dogs  share  equally  the  good-luck  or  misfortune  of 
their  masters.  The  Indian  is  more  regardful  of  his  dogs 
than  of  his  women,  for  dogs  are  less  numerous  than  squaws, 
and  more  necessary  to  his  support.  The  driver  lashes  them 
mercilessly  with  his  whip  and  beats  them  brutally  with 
clubs,  but  he  never  fails  to  include  th-.r  rations  in  his 
sledge-load,  nor  to  divide  his  last  fish  for  their  benefit. 
It  is  not  goodness  of  heart  that  stirs  his  consideration, 
but  fear  for  his  own  safety  and  the  loss  of  an  indispensa- 
ble draught  animal.  Without  his  dogs  he  would  be  com- 
pelled to  pack  on  his  back  what  he  now  packs  in  the 
sledge,  to  drag  his  game  out  of  the  woods,  and  carry  his 
furs  to  the  post,  while  the  loss  of  dogs  I'u  route  might 
mean  for  him  delay,  starvation — possibly  death. 

In  the  great  civilized  world  the  dog  has  been  called 
man's  best  friend ;  in  this  limitless  stretch  of  snow  and 
desolation  and  need  he  may  be  declared  man's  only  friend  ; 
in  i\\c  grand  pays  he  has  earned  the  trust  without  the  test ; 
here  in  this  lone  land  he  is  being  continuously  tried,  and 
never  found  wanting.  He  has  no  pedigree,  and  he  may 
be  of  any  color,  but  his  usual  appearance  is  that  of  a  fairly 
long-headed,  sharp-nosed  mongrel,  well  tucked  up  behind, 
with  big  feet,  and  a  coat  of  hair  equal  to  that  of  a  cub. 
To  call  these  dogs  "  huskies  "  is  an  error  common  to  nearly 
every  one  who  has  had  anything  to  say  on  the  subject. 


■  \ 


DOGS  AND  SLEDGES 


lOI 


The  word  "  husky  "  is  Northland  slang  for  Eskimo,  and  is 
generally  applied  to  that  arctic  denizen  himself,  as  well 
as  to  everything  belonging  to  him.  Their  dogs  (hitched 
abreast  instead  of  in  single  file)  are  properly  called  huskies, 
and  thus  it  has  come  about  that  all  dogs  used  to  drag  a 
sledge  are  ignorantly  so  called.  The  genuine  husky  is  a 
distinct  species,  larger,  more  powerful,  and  faster,  and  is 
not  easily  to  be  had,  since  the  Eskimos,  like  the  Indians, 
are  somewhat  indifferent  to  their  breeding,  and  good  dogs 
are  highly  prized.  Moreover,  there  is  no  communication 
between  the  Eskimos  and  the  more  southern  Indians,  so 
that  a  genuine  husky  is  a  rarn  twis  below  the  arctic  coast. 

The  Indians  say  their  dogs  are  descended  from  the  wolf, 
and  certainly  appearances  do  not  belie  them.  Names  are 
more  plentiful  than  dogs,  and  the  most  commonly  heard 
are  Castor,  Cabry,  Soldat,  Ca;sar,  Cabrcl,  Coffee,  Milord, 
the  popular  ones  being  those  of  two  syllables,  with  an  R 
that  may  be  rolled  out  to  the  whip's  accompaniment. 
Nearly  every  post  has  a  Bull  and  a  Whiskey — only  the 
name  of  that  civilized  stimulant  can  be  found  in  all  this 
land,  though  occasional  hilarity  is  developed  by  some 
poor  stuff  made  from  sugar,  and  called  beer.  Whiskey 
was  invariably  the  most  forlorn-looking  dog  in  the  pack, 
while  the  laziest  brutes  I  encountered  were  Bulls. 

One  would  suppose  that  in  a  country  literally  depend- 
ent on  dogs  for  winter  transportation,  quantity  and  at 
least  some  degree  of  quality  would  be  kept  up.  And  yet 
such  is  not  the  case.  Not  only  is  quality  wanting,  but 
the  quantity  is  limited.  The  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
strangely  enough,  seems  to  have  made  no  effort  to  im- 
prove or  even  establish  a  breed,  and  at  their  more  impor- 
tant posts  rarely  maintain  more  than  one  train,  and  never 
more  than  two.  Throughout  the  length  of  my  trip  I  saw 
just  seven  trains  of  dogs  that  could  be  called  first  class — 


m^^WMiOA- 


I02 


ON  SNOW-SI lOKS  TO  TIIF,  IIAKKI    .   GROUNDS 


Si)cnccr's  at  Mc  Murray;  twobclnnjjingtothc  Hudson's  Hay 
Company  at  Cliipcwyan  ;  McKinlcy's,  tlic  Hudson's  liay 
Company  officer  at  Fort  Smith  ;  Gaudct's,  the  company's 
officer  at  Resolution  ;  the  Roman  Catholic  missi(»n's  train 
at  the  same  post;  and  that  of  Hcniah,  the  Indian  leader 
with  whom  I  went  into  the  Jiarren  Grounds.  Spencer 
and  McKinley  probably  have  the  best  two  trains  in  the 
country,  which  they  have  bred  from  separate  bitches  that 
had  some  Newfoundland  blood  in  them,  and  were  the 
only  dogs  I  saw  that  would  come  to  harness  on  call. 

lieyond  the  "  foregoer."  upon  whom  the  meanings  of 
ma-a-r-r-chc  (start),  c-nu  (right),  ja  (left),  and  iclioa  are 
impressed  by  a  club,  and  the  steer-dog — as  the  one  at, 
say,  the  wheel,  to  make  it  comprehensible,  is  called — 
there  is  no  training.  The  foregoer  follows  the  trail  and 
sets  the  pace.  The  steer-dog  keeps  the  sledge  upon  a 
slanting  track,  and  guides  it  through  trees  and  rocks. 
He  must  be  strong,  and  is  the  most  important  of  the  four 
in  rough  country.  As  for  competent  drivers,  they  are 
even  scarcer  than  good  dogs,  but  the  few  are  exceedingly 
skilful ;  and  of  these,  Spencer,  McKinley,  Gaudet,  Fran- 
cois and  his  brother  William  at  Chipcwyan,  Michael,  the 
interpreter  at  Resolution,  and  the  Catholic  "brother," 
whose  name  I  never  knew,  at  Resolution,  are  easily  the 
best.  The  difference  between  a  good  and  a  bad  driver  is 
that  the  former  knows  how  and  when  to  handle  his 
sledge  to  ease  the  dogs,  keeps  them  all  up  to  their  work, 
and  does  not  "  force "  (urge)  them  at  improper  times. 
The  bad  driver  spends  his  energy  in  throwing  clubs  at  the 
foregoer  and  lashing  the  steer-dog,  chiefly  because  the 
latter  is  within  easy  reach.  He  permits  the  sledge  to 
slide  hither  and  thither,  to  the  exceeding  wear  and  tear 
of  the  steer-dog.  Now  and  then  he  stops  the  train  and 
lashes  the  dogs  all  round,  and  at  all  times  he  is  forcing 


to 


S 

w 

n 

> 

2 


s.   -* 
»5    -;. 


w 


r 


If 


l! 


DOGS  AND  SLEDGES 


•OS 


them.  Only  trains  made  up  of  exceptional  dogs  last 
more  than  a  couple  of  seasons,  and  once  their  usefulness 
is  passed  the  poor  brutes  are  turned  loose  to  seek  a  living 
where  those  for  whom  food  is  provided  are  more  frequent- 
ly hungry  than  satisfied. 
Their  vagrancy  is  usually 
short-lived — death  by  star- 
vation or  freezing  comes 
speedily  to  their  relief. 

The  farther  north,  the 
better  the  dogs  and  more 
gaudy  their  harness  and 
trappings.  They  are  al- 
ways savage  and  suspicious 
and  noisy,  but  to  the  south, 
towards  La  liichc,  they  are 
miserable  in  body  as  well, 
and  are  hitched  to  the 
sledge  with  harness  purely 
Indian,  and  utterly  devoid 
of  adornment.  Curio jsly 
enough,  the  Indian,  who 
likes  to  decorate  his  own 
person,  as  a  rule  utterly 
ignores  that  of  his  dog, 
though  he  may  paint  the  moose-skin  which  covers  the 
head  of  his  sledge,  or  hang  tufts  of  hair  or  yarn  upon 
it,  as  he  does  sometimes  on  the  toes  of  his  snow-shoes. 
All  harness  is  made  of  moose-skin,  but  at  Chipewyan  and 
north  it  is  better  fashioned,  and  there  aie,  besides,  loin- 
cloths, called  tapis,  covered  with  bell  and  embroidery,  and 
vivid  pompons  stuck  into  the  collars,  and  floating  ribbons 
of  many  contrasting  colors.  Add  to  this  a  driver  in 
beaded  moccasins,  leggings,  and  mittens,  with  a  LAssnmp- 


HANO-WARMERS   nv  THE   NORTH 


io6       ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO  THE   BARREN    GROUNDS 


t:\ 


tion  sash  about  his  waist,  a  caribou-skin  capote  on  his 
back,  and  a  fancifully  ornamented  and  betasselled  "  Tom- 
my Atkins'  cap  on  his  head,  and  the  Northland  express 
is  complete  and  at  its  best.  Indeed,  there  is  no  combina- 
tion more  sprightly  than  a  dog  brigade,  with  its  brilliant 
and  many-hued  tapis,  its  nodding  pompons  and  streaming 
ribbons,  and  its  picturesquely  costumed  driver.  There  is 
no  sensation  more  exhilarating  than  running  with  the 
dogs  on  snow-shoes  and  a  good  track,  to  the  jingling  of 
the  bells;  when  storm  obscures  the  pompons,  and  wind 
drowns  the  jingle,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  sledge  to 
eat,  the  sensation  is  not  so  enlivening. 

These  cogs  are  certainly  notable  travellers,  from  the 
best  fed  down  to  the  puniest  of  the  Indian  species,  which 
are  contemptuously  called  giddi^s  by  the  half-breeds,  and 
are  not  a  great  deal  larger  than  a  big  fox.  They  draw  a 
heavier  load,  at  a  faster  pace,  on  less  food,  and  for  a  greater 
length  of  time  than  one  would  believe  without  seeing. 
The  usual  number  to  a  train  is  four,  and  tandem  is  the 
mode  of  hitching  them  to  the  sledge,  which  is  about 
seven  feet  long  by  fourteen  inches  wide,  and  made  of 
either  two  or  three  birch  slats  held  together  by  cross-bars, 
and  turned  over  at  the  head  like  a  toboggan.  These  four 
dogs  will  haul  four  hundred  pounds  on  a  fair  track  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty-five  miles  a  day.  In  the  woods  where 
the  snow  is  deep  and  the  trail  must  be  broken  the  day's 
trip  will  be  fifteen  to  twenty  miles.  On  a  good  lake  or 
river  track,  drawing  a  cariolc  (a  passenger  sledge),  they  will 
go  forty  to  fifty  miles  a  day,  and  keep  it  up  several  days, 
and  this  on  two  white-fish  weighing  about  three  pounds 
apiece,  and  given  to  each  dog  at  night.  I  saw  Gaudet's 
train  bring  into  Resolution  five  hundred  pounds  of  cari- 
bou meat,  which  remained  after  supplying  two  men  and 
four  dogs  during  a  four- day  trip  on  Great  Slave  Lake. 


DOGS   AND  SLEDGES 


107 


Some  great  stories  are  told  of  tlic  loads  drawn  by  the 
Mackenzie  River  dogs,  whose  tails  are  docked  short,  to 
give  a  more  workman-like  appearance,  and  keep  the  meek 
and  lowly  from  advertising  their  shrinking  nature  and  spoil- 
ing the  appearance  of  the  train  by  sticking  the  offending  ap- 
pendage between  their  legs.     It  is  said  that  eight  or  nine 
hundred  and  even  a  thousand  pounds  are  commonly  hauled 
in  the  Mackenzie  district  by  four  dogs.    But  I  am  inclined 
to  class  these  stories  with  those  I  heard  concerning  the 
wonderful  strength  of  the  old-time  packers.     When  I  was 
going  in  on  snow-shoes  marvellous  tales  were  related  for 
my  benefit  of  men  who  had  carried  five  and  six  hundred 
pounds,  and  of  one  particular  giant  who  had  loaded  him- 
self with  seven  hundred  pounds,  and  had  written  his  name 
on  the  wall  with  three  hundred  pounds'  weight  tied  to  his 
wrist!     When  I  was  coming  out  on  the   Hudson's  Bay 
Company  flatboat  I  discovered  no  Indian  or  half-breed 
who  packed  more  than  two  hundred  pounds  on  his  back, 
while  the  name-writing  Hercules  had  left  no  successor. 


FROM   CHIPEWVAN  TO   FORT  SMITH 


It  must  not  be  supposed  that  my  researches  at  Chipe- 
wyan  taught  me  all  this,  or  that  all  I  have  said  applies  to 
the  country  immediately  about  that  post.  But  while  I  am 
figuratively  resting  my  ankle  under  Dr.  Mackay's  roof  I 
have  told  something  of  the  people  and  the  country  into 
which  I  am  pushing.  I  rested  only  one  day  at  Chipewyan, 
and  with  the  exception  of  a  most  interesting  visit  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  mission,  in  charge  of  Bishop  Grouard 
(who  is  pursuing  the  only  practical  course  of  Indian  civili- 
zation by  beginning  with  the  children),  I  spent  my  time 
getting  my  feet  and  ankle  in  condition  for  the  onward 
journey,  and  in  talking  with  the  Doctor,  who  is  one  of  the 
real  and  prominent  "  old-timers."  Two  others  are  J.  S. 
Camsell,thc  Hudson's  Bay  Company  ofificer  at  Fort  Simp- 
son, on  the  Mackenzie,  one  of  the  most  popular  factors 
and  hardiest  voyagcitrs  in  the  country,  and  C.  P.  Gaudet, 
in  charge  of  Fort  Good  Hope,  on  the  same  river. 

Of  Chipewyan  itself  there  is  little  to  say,  other  than 
that  it  was  from  this  point,  then  a  post  of  the  Northwest 
Company,  that  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie  in  1789  took  his 
departure  for  his  voyage  of  discovery;  and  here,  too.  Sir 
John  Franklin  spent  some  time  previous  to  embarking 
on  the  trip  which  resulted  in  the  starvation  of  several 
of  his  party,  and  eventually  in  his  own  death. 

I  was  given  the  same  assurances  here  that  I  had  re- 


■ 


H 
X 

w 


so 

> 


> 


FROM   CHIPEWYAN    TO  FORT   SMITH 


I II 


ceived  all  along  my  trip,  of  not  being  able  to  get  into  the 
Barren  Grounds  and  out  again  in  winter,  but  Dr.  Mackay 
was  good  enough  to  yield  to  my  determination  to  make 
the  attempt,  and  to  aid  me  by  advice,  and,  what  was  more 
to  the  point,  to  place  two  of  the  post's  best  trains  of  dogs 
at  my  disposal.  One  of  these  was  for  the  luggage,  and 
the  other  to  carry  me  a  day  on  my  journey,  and  then  turn 
back,  in  order  that  my  ankle,  still  very  sensitive,  should 
have  another  twelve  hours'  rest.  We  left  Chipewyan  on 
January  24th,  in  greater  style  than  I  affected  at  any  sub- 
sequent time,  with  Maurice,  one  of  the  celebrated  Beau- 
lieu  family,  running  before  the  dogs,  and  Roderick  Fleet 
and  William  Pini,  English  and  French  half-breeds  respect- 
ively, doing  the  driving.  I  cannot  declare  my  first  expe- 
rience in  a  cariole  to  have  been  one  of  unalloyed  pleasure. 
It  saved  my  ankle,  and  for  that  I  was  of  course  grateful ; 
but  despite  all  the  furs  it  is  miserably  cold  travelling  ;  and, 
what  is  equally  as  trying,  the  cariole  keeps  upsetting,  unless 
you  are  on  a  well-worn  lake  or  river  track,  and  you,  bun- 
dled up  in  furs,  are  dragged  along  face  downwards,  like  a 
bag  of  meal,  until  the  driver  sets  you  up  again.  William 
was  very  attentive,  but  not  all  his  care  made  me  regret 
when  the  first  day  was  over  and  my  riding  at  an  end. 

We  camped  that  night  at  the  junction  of  the  Peace  and 
Slave  rivers,  and  Avhen  we  started  the  next  morning,  long 
before  daylight,  the  temperature  was  35"^  below  zero,  and 
our  route  lay  down  the  Slave  River.  I  noted  very  little 
difference  between  the  scenery  of  this  and  that  of  Atha- 
basca River — unless  possibly  the  banks  of  the  latter  are 
somewhat  higher  and  more  heavily  wooded.  In  fact, 
there  is  slight  change  in  the  scene  anywhere  in  the  coun- 
try, except  that  caused  by  the  gradual  diminution  of  tim- 
ber as  you  go  north,  until  it  dwarfs  into  the"  land  of  little 
sticks,"  above  Great  Slave  Lake,  and  disappears  altogether 


f<    i 


112       ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO   THE   UARREN  GROUNDS 


% 


at  the  Barren  Grounds.  It  is  a  countrj'  where  the  water- 
courses are  the  highways  —  for  canoes  in  summer  and 
snow-shoes  in  winter.  The  land  is  without  roads,  and 
stray  where  you  will  you  may  stand  on  unexplored  soil. 
The  river-banks  are  well  timbered,  but  back  of  them 
stretches  away,  far  beyond  the  Indians'  ken,  the  trackless, 
uninhabitable  muskeg. 

My  joy  at  being  out  of  the  cariole  was  brief,  for  the 
pain  of  my  ankle  was  intensified  by  the  hard  track  on 
which  we  were  running,  and  the  ice  was  full  of  cracks  and 
holes,  which  in  darkness  are  always  dangerous  to  tite  7'oj'- 
ageiir,  and  were  especially  so  to  me  in  my  crippled  condi- 
tion. We  had  the  coldest  weather  I  experienced  before 
reaching  the  Barrens,  the  mercury  touching  50°  below  the 
second  night,  and  beginning  at  42°  and  going  to  48°  on 
the  third  day.  The  only  relief  I  had  to  the  monotony  of 
travel  was  afforded  me  by  Roderick  and  Maurice  in  setting 
fox-traps,  and  my  own  experiment  with  a  pair  of  Norwe- 
gian snow-shoes  (skis),  which  I  had  made  at  Chipcwyan, 
and  that  I  found  inferior  to  the  web  shoe  for  travel  in  this 
kind  of  country. 

Although  we  were,  indeed,  going  along  at  a  pretty  lively 
gait,  and  quite  fast  enough  for  my  physical  condition,  my 
mental  half  chafed  at  the  pace,  and  was  impatient  to  reach 
Fort  Smith.  My  eyes  had  been  on  this  post  ever  since  1 
left  the  railroad.  It  seemed  the  Mecca  of  my  trip,  for 
there  lived  James  McKinley,  the  only  man  who  could 
give  me  any  information  of  the  Barren  Grounds,  as  he  not 
only  had  been  stationed  at  Great  Slave  Lake,  but  made  a 
summer  trip  to  that  land  of  desolation  with  Warburton 
Pike.  But  the  way  was  hard  and  the  long  stretches  of 
nvfr  disheartening.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  I  always 
found  I  travelled  easier  where  the  river  was  tortuous,  for, 
though  knowing  the  distance  to  be  none  the   less,  the 


FROM   CIIIPEWYAN    TO   FORT    SMITH 


»i3 


many  bends  gave  heart  to  reach  the  point  beyond,  while 
when  I  came  upon  a  long  stretch  the  bare  work  of  run- 
ning stared  me  in  the  face,  and  the  distance  seemed 
doubled.  \Vc  really  made  very  good  time,  and  arrived  at 
Fort  Smith  on  the  morning  of  the  27th,  having  been 
three  days  and  two  hours  doing  the  118  miles. 

Though  prepared  for  a  cordial  reception  at  the  post, 
since  McKinley's  big  heart  and  helping  hand  are  known 
from  end  to  end  of  the  Northland,  the  heartiness  of  my 
welcome  and  the  solicitude  for  my  condition  quite  over- 
powered me.  To  one  coming  from  the  pulsing  city, 
where  it  is  "  every  man  for  himself,  and  the  devil  take 
the  hindmost,"  it  is  a  somewhat  curious  sensation  to  have 
strangers  that  know  you  but  in  the  passing  take  such  in- 
terest in  your  movements  and  exhibit  concern  for  your 
comfort. 

I  was  soon  sitting  in  McKinley's  unpretentious  cabin, 
with  the  water  he  had  brought  soothing  my  swollen  feet, 
and  the  tea  his  wife  had  brewed  warming  me.  When 
I  was  refreshed,  McKinley  made  me  lie 
down,  and  then  we  talked  of  my  proposed 
hunt  for  musk-oxen.  He  reiterated  the 
assurances  I  had  received  ever  since  starting 
that  I  could  not  get  into  the  Barrens  in 
midwinter  and  get  out  again.  He  doubted 
whether  I  could  induce  Indians  to  make  the 
attempt  for  love  or  money,  but  as  I  was 
bent  on  the  effort,  advised  me  to  try  to  se- 
cure Beniah,  a  Dog-Rib  leader,  and  one  of 
the  best  hunters  and  most  courageous  Ind- 
ians in  the  country.  He  said  none  of  the 
Indians  would  be  at  Slave  Lake  at  this  time, 
and  that  the  only  sure  way  of  getting  into  communication 
with  them  was  by  sending  a  runner  to  Resolution  with  a 


Cim-KWYAN 
TRIPriNC-SHOK, 

3  feet  long 


/ 


i^k 


in, 

r 


114       ON   SNOW  SIIOKS   TO   THK   HARKEN   GROUNDS 

letter  to  Gaudet,  the  Hudson's  lk\y  Company  officer  in 
charge,  asking  him  to  send  after  lieniah,  who  would  very 
likely  be  hunting  in  the  woods  six  or  eight  days'  journey 
from  Slave  Lake.  Meanwhile  he  was  organizing  a  wood- 
bison  hunt  with  Henry  Toke  Munn,  an  Englishman,  who 
had  been  in  the  country  a  year,  and  made  a  summer  and 
an  autumn  trip  into  the  Barrens,  with  the  hard  luck  of 
bringing  out  only  a  musk-cow  head,  after  a  most  trying 
experience,  and  they  would  be  glad  to  have  me  join  them. 
This  accorded  with  my  plans  nicely,  for  I  had  intended 
making  a  bison-hunt,  and  it  could  now  be  accomplished 
without  loss  of  time — an  important  consideration — while 
lieniah  was  being  found  and  brought  to  Resolution. 
Consequently  an  "  express  "  was  despatched  to  Resolu- 
tion, and  pending  the  return  of  Munn,  who  was  in  the 
woods  trapping,  and  would  be  back  the  following  day,  I 
rested  while  "  Mc  "  told  me  of  the  country  and  its  people 
and  its  life,  which  he  has  learned  so  well  in  his  twenty 
years'  residence. 


I 


XI 


OUK    WOOD- BISON   HUNT 


woon-msoN  head  nuorciiT 

OUT    HY    THE    Al'TlIOR 


Tllli  wood-bison  is  the  once  familiar  species  of  our  own 
Western  plains,  grown  heavier  in  liis  retirement  from  the 
old  life,  when  the  trail  of  his 
hunter  never  grew  cold,  and 
he  rested  neither  by  day  nor 
night.  He  is  the  same  animal 
with  a  more  rounded  stern,  ac- 
quired by  his  life  of  compara- 
tive restfulness,  and  a  heavi- 
er, darker  robe  to  protect  him 
from  the  colder  climate  of  his 
adopted  home.  How  long  he 
has  been  in  this  country  there 
are  no  means  of  knowing.  The  present  generation  of 
Indians,  and  their  fathers  before  them,  have  always  hunt- 
ed him  in  a  desultory  way,  but  there  arc  no  traditions  of 
an  earlier  bison,  and  the  country  in  which  he  roams  tells 
no  tales.  There  are  no  well-beaten  trails,  such  as  those 
Avhich  on  the  plains  last  even  to  the  present  day,  to  re- 
mind us  of  the  vast  herds  that  have  been  sacrificed  to 
man's  greed. 

The  muskeg  where  he  ranges  in  the  Northland  shows 
no  trail,  and  if  it  did  it  would  remain  undiscovered,  for  it 
is  impassable  to  the  hunter  in  summer,  and  in  winter  is 
covered  by  snow  to  the  depth  of  two  feet.     Really  little 


Il6       ON    SNOW-SHOES   TO    THK    ItAKKEN    GROUNDS 


i;( 


E 


is  known  of  the  wood-bison,  except  that  he  is  gradually 
going  the  way  of  the  plains  species,  from  the  difficulties 
of  maintaining  an  existence  where  climate,  pasturage,  and 
man  are  all  against  him.  Recently  a  law  has  been  passed 
by  the  Canadian  government  prohibiting  their  killing,  but 
it  will  be  impossible  to  enforce  it,  since  no  mundane  power 
could  stop  a  starving  Indian  from  shooting  if  he  got  the 
opportunity.  A  check  can  be  put  to  sending  out  the  hide, 
but  that  would  not  prevent  killing  for  the  meat.  More- 
over, my  inquiry  did  not  discover  any 
wholesale  slaughter  of  these  animals. 

Some  thirty  years   ago   a   suddi-n   and 
exceptional  thaw  in    midwinter,  followed 
by  a  severe  storm  and  bitter  cold,  that  cov- 
ered the  snow  with   ice  which   the  bison 
could  not  break,  caused  the  death  of  a  very 
great  many  from  starvation  and  freezing. 
Again,  three  years  ago  (1892),  another  thaw 
and  storm  gave  the  Indians  an  opportuni- 
ty for  that  diabolical  diversion  of  crusting, 
by  which  method  some  men  reared  in  the 
civilized   world   hunt  deer  and  moose  to 
this  day,  and  about  fifty  bison  were  then 
run  down  and  killed.     But  these  were  un- 
usual occasions.    Bison  are  not  being  killed 
in  large  numbers  nor  shot  frequently  as  in- 
dividuals.   They  range  over  a  country  too 
large  and  too  difficult  to  reach,  and  require  more  skilful 
hunting  than  the  average  Indian  is  capable  of.     When  I 
was  in  the  country  in  the  winter  of  1894-5  not  even  a  bi- 
son track  had  been  seen  up  to  the  time  of  our  hunt,  and 
the  head  I  obtained  through  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Mackay 
was  the  last  one  shot,  and  that  two  years  before.     So  the 
extermination  of  wood -bison   through  their  hunting  by 


LOUCHEl'X    SHOE, 
6  feet  long 


OUR   WOOD-niSON    HUNT 


"7 


Indians  is  not  to  be  apprehended,  while  the  remoteness 
of  their  country,  the  difficulties  of  access— to  say  nothing 
of  the  dangers  of  starvation  and  freezing  once  you  get 
there — prtitect  them  from  the  white  hunter. 

How  many  wood-bison  there  are  is  not  easily  estimated. 
I  made  diligent  inquiry  from  all  sources  of  information, 
and  their  numbers  as  told  off  to  mc  ranged  from  150  to 
300.  Joseph  Beaulieu,  at  Smith  Landing,  popularly  called 
"  Susie  "  by  the  natives  that  cannot  master  the  English 
pronunciation,  and  another  of  the  famous  Beaulieu  Himily, 
said  he  believed  there  must  be  a  thousand  ;  but  then 
"  Susie  "  has  the  common  failing  of  the  country,  and,  more- 
over, he  delivered  himself  of  this  statement  when  he  was 
persuading  us  to  take  a  hunter  of  his  recommendation, 
and  whom  we  afterwards  cursed  with  all  the  depth  and 
breadth  and  warmth  of  English  expletive. 

The  bison  range  in  the  country  bounded  by  Peace, 
Slave,  and  Buffalo  rivers,  which  has  an  area  of  a  good 
many  hundred  miles.  As  they  roam  this  territory  from 
end  to  end,  and  are  usually  found  in  small  herds,  the  one 
of  fifty  that  was  killed  a  few  years  ago  being  an  excep- 
tional congregation,  and  as  the  Indians  never  hunt  more 
than  a  very  small  piece  of  this  section  in  one  winter,  the 
difficulty  of  arriving  at  a  close  estimate  of  their  total  num- 
ber may  be  understood. 

Personally  I  am  convinced  that  150  comes  very  near 
representing  their  total.  Munn  and  I  in  our  hunt  very 
thoroughly  covered  the  larger  portion  of  their  more  south- 
erly range,  and  discovered  the  tracks  of  thirteen  ;  IMunn 
in  a  subsequent  hunt  in  a  more  northerly  part  of  their 
range  saw  the  tracks  of  forty  ;  neither  of  us  heard  of  any 
signs  between  these  two  sections,  or  Peace  River  way;  and 
I,  while  at  Slave  Lake  preparing  for  my  musk-ox  hunt, 
set  inquiry  afoot  for  signs  of  them  in  the  most  northerly 


1 

mh 


i#ii 


tt:t 


I 


i:' 


f 


ill" 
Ml 


tl! 


4., 


1 


iis    ON  j>NuNv  sii()i;s  lo  mi:  hakuln  likounds 

piece  of  their  iMn<;e,  without  {^cttin"^  enough  encourajrc. 
mcnt  to  warrant  delayitii^  my  start  for  the  Harreii  Grounds 
for  anotlier  attempt  to  brinj;  out  a  bison  head  of  my  own 
killin<j.  So  that  we  two  were  the  first  to  practically  cover, 
one  way  and  another,  their  entire  ranjje  in  one  winter,  ami 
yet  we  heard  of  only  fift)--threel 

To  plan  a  hunt  was  one  thing,  but  to  get  started  quite 
another.  Half  a  dozen  Indians  told  us  by  the  hour  how 
much  they  know  of  the  bison  country  and  how  undoubted 
their  prowess,  but  whose  knowledge,  on  close  cpiestioning, 
\\c  found  little  more  than  our  own.  So  we  spent  two  days 
separating  fact  from  fiction  before  finally  deciding  Calome 
and  Hushy  to  be  the  only  two  of  the  lot  worth  considering. 
But  Calome  wa'ited  a  rifle  for  himself  and  a  sack  of  flour 
for  his  wife  before  he  would  even  discuss  wages,  and  Hushy 
was  uncertain  of  the  section  which  we  had  decided  to  hunt. 
Meanwhile  "Susie"  sent  word  that  he  had  secured  a  good 
hunter,  Jeremi,  who  knew  the  country  well,  and  was  cer- 
tain to  find  bison.  So  we  decided  on  Jeremi  for  our  guide, 
and  Smith  Landing,  eighteen  miles  south  of  the  post,  as 
our  starting-point. 

It  was  half  after  three  on  the  afternoon  of  I-'ebruary  1st 
when  McKinley,  Munn,  and  I  got  under  way  for  tlie  Land- 
ing, with  two  trains  of  dogs  carrying  our  sleeping-robes, 
twenty  pounds  of  bacon,  fifty  pounds  of  flour,  three  pounds 
of  tea,  and  si.x  pounds  of  tobacco,  to  last  five  of  us  for  the 
eight  da>-s  we  expected  would  complete  the  hunt,  and  it 
was  half  after  six  when  we  had  gone  the  eighteen  miles 
that  brought  us  to  "Susie's"  cabin.  We  limited  our  own 
supplies  to  the  last  degree,  bec.iuse  wc  knew  the  going 
would  be  heavy  and  the  fish  for  the  dogs  more  than  a  load, 
and  we  counted  on  the  snares  we  had  taken  to  replenish 
our  stock  from  the  rabbits  that  swarm  the  woods. 

Hunting  in  this  country  is  a  ver}'  different  affair  from 


.1 


\ 


: 


h  '■ 


i 


^x 


> 
> 

7: 


1/1 


r;-\ 


I IV 


OUR   WOOD -BISON    HUNT 


12' 


hunting  in  any  other.  It  is  impossible  to  take  a  supply 
of  good  provisions,  or  even  a  good  supply  of  the  poor  pro- 
vision the  land  affords.  We  were  particularly  luxurious  in 
having  bacon  and  flour,  for  usually  dried  fish  and  dried 
caribou  meat  are  all  that  may  be  had.  It  is  out  of  the 
question  to  be  well  fed  or  comfortable ;  fish  for  the  dogs 
must  be  carried,  distances  are  great,  travelling  fatiguing, 
and  hunting  hard.  Then  there  is  the  extreme  difificulty 
of  getting  good  hunters — the  Indians  are  great  braggarts 
but  poor  hunters — and  the  annoyance  of  making  terms 
with  them.  They  invariably  want  everything  in  sight  while 
negotiating,  and  subsequently  discover  either  a  starving 
wife,  whom  you  feed,  or  moccasinless  feet,  which  you  cover. 
But  "  Susie  "  assured  us  in  Cree,  Chipewyan,  F'rench,  and 
in  the  limited  English  at  his  command,  of  which  he  is 
very  proud,  if  uncertain,  that  we  should  have  no  trouble  of 
any  sort  with  Jeremi,  or  Joseph,  his  aide-de-camp.  And 
therefore  we  accepted  Jeremi  in  confidence,  because  "  Su- 
sie" is  an  important  personage  among  his  people,  who 
trade  with  and  always  refer  to  him  as  a  I'oitrgTois,  which, 
curiously  enough,  in  this  country  is  a  complimentary  title 
indicating  superiority. 

Jeremi  was  one  of  the  most  unique  tatterdemalions  I 
beheld  on  my  trip.  Munn  and  I  instantly  dubbed  him 
the  Ancient  Warrior;  not  that  his  appearance  was  forbid- 
ding, or  that  he  ever  revealed  any  predilection  for  the  war- 
path, except  perhaps  when  Joseph  helped  himself  too 
generously  to  the  grease  in  the  frying-pan,  but  he  looked 
as  though  he  might  have  just  come  off  a  "  march  through 
Georgia,"  and  there  was  a  weariness  about  every  motion 
that  suggested  long  and  arduous  campaigning.  He  was 
tall  and  gaunt,  with  an  appetite  for  tea  and  grease  I  never 
saw  equalled,  and  a  costume  which  baffled  description. 
Two  thick  locks  of  hair  hung  forward  of  his  ears  and  down 


122       ON   Sx\0\V-S110i:S    TO    TIIK    liAKkKN    GROUNDS 


fi  y 


to  his  chin,  a  turban  whose  original  color  had  long  since 
been  lost  to  view  encircled  his  head,  and  crowning  all  was 
a  very  small  cap  he  had  got  from  some  trader  many  years 
before,  and  which  sat  rakishly  on  one  side  or  the  other  of 
his  head,  and  consistently  fell  off  every  ti:  (e  departed 
from  the  perpendicular.  His  preparatio  for  sleeping 
always  afforded  me  a  great  deal  of  quiet  amusement.  He 
would  squat  Indian  fashion  (and  Indian  fashion  differs  from 
tailor  fashion  only  in  that  the  feet  are  crossed  behind  and 
are  sat  on)  before  the  fire,  warming  his  back  and  stomach 
alternately  ;  then  he  would  heap  up  a  pile  of  frozen  rabbits 
for  a  pillow,  roll  up  in  his  robe,  and  lie  down  to  snore. 

Very  high  pillows,  by-the-way,  are  common  to  all  these 
Indians;  they  gather  everything  loose  about  camp  and 
stow  it  under  their  heads,  until  they  are  raised  a  couple 
of  feet.  It  was  always  a  wonder  to  me  how  they  slept  at 
all,  though  I  found  in  the  Barren  Grounds,  where  there  is 
no  brush  to  soften  your  bed,  and  you  lie  on  rock  chiefly, 
and  always  on  your  side,  that  a  moderately  high  pillow  is 
desirable,  as  it  relieves  the  shoulder  from  bearing  the  en- 
tire weight  of  your  body. 

It  was  rather  late  in  the  afternoon  of  February  2d  when 
we  left  the  Landing  on  a  southwest  course,  which  took  us 
to  and  up  Salt  River,  and  finally  to  a  treeless  twelve-mile 
stretch,  on  the  edge  of  which  we  made  a  wretched  camp 
in  the  increasing  cold  and  with  insufficient  firewood. 
There  "  Susie,"  who  had  also  decided  to  make  a  try  for 
bison,  joined  us  that  night.  This  made  us,  all  told,  a  com- 
pany of  seven,  which  was  not  to  Munn's  liking,  and  cer- 
tainly not  to  mine,  for,  of  all  things,  I  have  ever  shunned 
none  so  studiously  as  a  large  hunting-p.irt}'.  However, 
there  was  no  way  of  mending  matters.  The  wind  grew 
stronger,  and  the  mercury  fell  to  40°  degrees  below,  which 
not  only  froze  the  noses,  ears,  and  chins  of  all  of  us  the 


'  QA^^^.ia>* 


OUR   WOOD-HISOX    HUNT 


123 


next  morning  crossing  the  open  country,  but,  what  was 
more  serious,  put  such  a  crust  on  the  snow  that  hunting 
an  animal  so  wary  as  the  bison  was  next  to  impossible. 
For  two  days  we  journeyed 
towards   the    section  Jere- 
mi  "knew  so  well,"  going 
through  a  fine  game  coun- 
try cf  swamps  covered  with 
coarse  grass,  and  surround- 
ed by  willows,  small  patch- 
es of  pine,  spruce,  and  pop- 
lar,  and  plenty  of   moose 
signs  everywhere.     In  fact, 
this  is  one  of  the  best  game 
districts  in  the  North.     On 
the   morning   of  the  third 
day,  being  at  the  edge  of 
the   bison    country,  Munn, 
"  Susie,"  Jeremi,  and  I  went 
on  ahead  looking  for  siens 
"  Mc  "  preferring  to  remain 
with  the   outfit    to    bring 
up  trains,  and  pitch  camp 
where    we  might  indicate, 
as  we  did  seven  miles  far- 
ther  on.      In    a   very   cold 
wind  we  tramped  for  about 
twenty  -  five    miles  —  stop- 
ping  once  to  build   a   fire, 

that  the  Ancient  Warrior  might  uarm  his  feet,  and  a-ain 
to  eat  a  frozen  biscuit  we  had  each  fetched-across  small 
lakes,  over  marshes  cut  up  by  creeks,  and  along  thickly 
wooded  ridges,  but  the  sight  of  not  a  solitary  bison  track 
rewarded  our  search. 


\VAK-I10N'M/r 


124       ON    SNOW-SHOES   TO   THE    P.ARREN    GROUNDS 


m 


"Susie  "  and  Jcremi  were  both  much  disappointed,  for 
they  had  confidently  expected  to  find  signs  in  this  particular 
section ;  so  the  next  morning,  our  provisions  having  run  low, 
McKinley,  "  Susie,"  and  his  Indian  turned  back  for  the 
Landing,  while  Munn  and  I  set  Jercmi  and  Joseph  to  mak- 
ing snares,  determined  to  lay  in  supplies  here  before  going 
deeper  into  the  bison  country.  Then,  too,  we  knew  two 
sons  of  Jeremi's  would  be  passing  on  their  way  to  a  cache 
of  dried  moose  meat.  So  we  bettered  our  camp  to  pro- 
tect us  from  the  wind,  and  while  our  two  Indians  caught 
rabbits,  Munn  and  I  chopped  firewood,  and  smoked,  and 
drank  tea. 

What  truly  astounding  quantities  of  tea  and  tobacco 
one  consumes,  and  what  a  craving  for  grease  one  acquires 
in  this  uncongenial  clime  !  I  found  the  strong  black  plug 
traded  to  the  Indians  a  decided  stimulant  in  the  Barren 
Grounds,  where  a  pipe  and  a  cup  of  tea  constituted  one's 
bill  of  fare  for  several  days  at  a  time,  and  tea  to  be  much 
more  bracing  than  coffee.  Coffee  is  the  alleged  luxury 
of  the  Northland,  and  only  to  be  had  at  an  occasional 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  officer's  table;  but  grease,  in 
point  of  fact,  is  the  real  luxury.  Only  eternal  vigilance 
will  save  your  cache,  and  nothing  less  persuasive  than  a 
shot-gun  rescue  it  from  the  hands  of  its  Indian  discoverer. 

We  stayed  in  this  camptwo  days,  and  in  that  time  snared 
rabbits  enough  to  last  us  and  the  dogs  a  week,  and  to  fill 
me  with  revulsion  at  the  very  sight  of  one. 

There  is  something  peculiarly  offensive  in  rabbit  after 
continuous  diet.  I  have  lived  at  one  time  or  another 
during  my  hunting  experiences  on  one  kind  of  game  for 
periods  of  varying  length,  but  nothing  ever  filled  me  with 
such  loathing  as  rabbit.  Indeed,  it  is  commonly  said  by 
the  Indians  that  they  "  starve  on  rabbit,"  and  after  my 
experience  I  can  easily  understand  it ;  you  may  eat  until 


m 


OUR   WOOD-lilSON    HUNT 


125 


you  are  surfeited,  but  after  a  couple  of  Hours'  hard  travel- 
ling you  feel  as  empty  as  though  in  the  midst  of  a  pro- 
longed fast.  There  is  neither  nourishment  nor  strength 
in  the  meat,  and  yet  the  rabbit  seems  almost  to  be  manna 
for  the  otherwise  God-forsaken  land.  In  countless  num- 
bers they  skurry  over  the  entire  country,  and  are  just  the 
ordinary  rabbit  known  everywhere,  except  that  here  they 
change  to  white  in  the  winter,  and  on  the  lower  Barren 
Grounds  double  in  size,  and  become  arctic  hares.  Every 
seventh  year  their  numbers  are  decreased  a  good  half  by 


RABBrr    SNARE 


a  mysterious  and  deadly  disease,  and  then  the  Indians 
suffer,  for  no  one  can  say  how  many  depend  on  them  for 
subsistence.  If  there  is  caribou  or  moose  meat  or  fish  at 
the  lodge,  it  goes  to  the  hunters,  who  must  face  the 
storms  and  withstand  the  hardships  of  travel ;  but  the 
"  squaw  men,"  the  old  men,  and  certainly  the  women  and 
children,  more  than  once  during  the  year  owe  their  very 
lives  to  the  rabbit.  So,  although  despised  by  me,  he  is 
revered  in  this  home  of  snow  and  hunger. 

Caribou,  I  may  say  in  passing,  I  consider  of  all  wild 
meats  the  one  that  one  tires  of  least. 

We  moved  only  fifteen  miles  the  first  day  we  broke  our 


U; 


^1« 


126       ON   SNOW-SHOES    TO   TllK    liAKKEN   GROUNDS 

rabbit  camp,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  all  the  way,  and 
passing  over  a  country  filled  with  curious  bowl-shaped 
depressions  that  ranged  from  ten  to  fifty  feet  in  depth 
and  proportionately  wide,  and  at  night  the  Ancient  War- 
rior's sons  turned  up  to  gladden  our  hearts  and  relieve 
our  stomjc'  \;ith  dried  moose  meat.  Dried  meat,  by- 
the-way,  caribou  or  moose,  when  at  its  best,  is  about  as 
thick  as  sole-leather,  and  of  like  consistency;  when  it  is 
poor  it  somewhat  resembles  parchment  in  thickness  and 
succulence.  It  is  made  by  cutting  the  fresh  meat  into 
strips,  whir':  ::)<^  i''"-^  over  the  fire  to  smoke,  subsequently 
in  the  sun  to  d  /  ^  '  *"  the  ordinary  food  on  these  expe- 
ditions, becau.ii-  dried  jf"  i  ■  so  much  easier  carried.  It  is 
not  tf  ■  '.hsor  ..  but  it  is  ■  '^  and  that  is  the  main  de- 
sideratum in  this  c  nl'-\,  'ro^'i  meat  is  the  hunter's 
luxury. 

The  coming  of  these  two  boys  furnished  my  first  in- 
sight into  the  relations  between  Indian  parents  and  chil- 
dren. They  arrived,  one  with  a  badly  frozen  check,  the 
other  with  frozen  fingers,  and  both  shivering  with  cold, 
yet  Jeremi  scarcely  turned  his  head  in  greeting,  made  no 
sign  to  give  them  room  by  his  own  warm  place  at  the 
fireside,  nor  showed  paternal  solicitude  for  their  sufferings. 
They  scraped  away  a  little  snow  at  the  edge  of  our  camp, 
and  there  rolled  up  in  their  blankets,  while  their  dogs  and 
ours,  by  the  light  of  a  glorious  moon,  mingled  in  an  ani- 
mated fight  that  lasted  a  good  part  of  the  night,  and  was 
waged  vigorously  around  and  over  us.  The  dog  is  the 
one  member  of  the  Indian  family  that  is  no  respecter  of 
age  or  se.x.  Ikit  the  boys  pay  the  penalty  of  youth,  as 
their  sisters  and  mothers  do  of  womanhood. 

We  were  now  where  the  sight  of  bison  was  an  hourly 
expectation ;  we  had  come  over  one  hundred  miles  into 
their  range  without  a  glimpse  of  a  track,  new  or  old,  and 


' 


"JKKKMI    WAS   TOO    QUICK    WITH    HIS   C.VN  " 


i 


OUR   NYOOD-BISON    HUNT 


IJ9 


Munn  and  I  decided  our  quarry  to  be,  as  indeed  lie  is,  the 
rarest  of  the  rare.  We  travelled  all  day  along  and  up  and 
down  ridges,  where  men  and  dogs  could  scarcely  drag  the 
sledge  for  fallen  timber  and  sharp  ascents,  and  where  the 
snow  was  deep,  and  breaking  trail  excessively  hard, 
especially  with  tripping-shoes  on  which  you  sank  to  the 
knee,  and  with  the  toe  of  which  you  barked  your  shins  as 
you  raised  your  foot  after  every  step  to  shake  off  the 
shovelful  of  accumulated  snow. 

In  this  fashion  we  worked  our  way  for  about  twenty 
miles,  and  yet  saw  no  signs.  But  we  did  have  a  fine  camp 
in  the  woods  that  night,  with  a  roaring,  warming  fire,  and 
such  a  glorious  auroral  exhibition  as  I  had  never  before 
beheld,  nor  ever  afterwards  saw  surpassed.  Now  there 
were  dancing  waves  of  changing  red  and  violet  expanding 
and  narrowing  and  whirling  across  the  sky  in  phantom 
dances ;  then  great  radiant  streaks  of  golden-greenish 
pierced  the  heavens  like  iridescent  search-lights  of  incom- 
parable power  and  brilliancy.  It  was  all  so  startlingly 
brilliant  and  wonderfully  beautiful.  And  I  lay  on  my 
back,  with  the  Indians  on  one  side  and  the  dogs  all 
around,  and  stared  at  the  magnificent  spectacle,  and — for- 
got the  rabbits. 

The  Indians  have  no  definite  idea  touching  the  aurora; 
in  their  always  apt  nomenclature  they  call  it  the  "  lights 
that  move  quickly,"  and  in  general  accept  the  exhibition 
as  merely  the  sign  of  wind  or  fine  weather.  The  Dog- 
Ribs  say  it  is  the  spirits  of  their  ancestors  holding  a 
dance  ;  another  tribe  varies  this  only  by  substituting  fight- 
ing for  dancing;  but  there  is  really  no  attempt  at  solu- 
tion. They  arc  too  thoroughly  occupied  in  solving  the 
problem  of  living.  They  do  claim,  however,  that  the  au- 
rora is  at  times  audible,  and  some  scientists  agree  with 
them.     Personally  I  can  add  little  certainty  to  the  uncer- 


13°      ON    SNOW-SHOES   TO   THE    15ARREN   GROUNDS 


•li 


tuin  information  on  the  question.  Twice  on  my  trip, 
when  there  were  auroral  displays,  T  heard  noises  some- 
what like  the  rustling  or  crackling  of  a  silken  banner 
standing  out  in  the  wind,  but  whether  it  was  made  by 
settling  or  cracking  snow  and  ice  or  by  the  aurora  I  can- 
not afifirm.  There  is  little  opportunity  to  test  the  matter 
in  winter,  for,  what  with  storms  and  winds,  an  absolutely 
still  night  is  as  rare  as  a  day  in  June. 

The  next,  our  ninth  out  from  the  Landing,  was  the 
memorable  day  of  the  hunt.  It  opened  in  hope — for  we 
were  in  the  heart  of  the  bison  country — and  closed  in 
despair,  because  in  one  short  hour  we  had  seen  and  chased 
and  lost  our  game. 

We  broke  camp  at  daylight,  to  reach  on  this  day  the 
lake  near  which  we  expected  to  find  bison,  and  the  country 
we  penetrated  had  not  before  been  hunted  by  the  Ind- 
ians. It  was  broken  into  numberless  little  gullies  and 
ridges,  none  of  which  Jeremi  missed  in  his  wandering,  and 
the  snow  was  so  deep,  and  dead  timber  and  thickly  grown 
small  fir  so  formidable,  we  made  haste  very  slowly.  What 
with  clearing  a  way  for  the  sledge,  disentangling  the  dogs, 
and  keeping  on  our  feet,  we  advanced  but  twelve  miles 
all  day.  We  were  in  an  unexplored  country,  and  the 
Ancient  Warrior  was  lost ;  he  invariably  carried  us  to 
the  top  of  the  highest  ridge  that  lay  anywhere  within 
striking  distance  of  our  course,  and,  once  there,  sent 
Joseph  up  a  tree  for  a  view  of  some  familiar  landmark, 
while  he  sank  on  his  knees  in  what  had  the  appearance  of 
a  supplication  for  light  on  the  darkness  of  our  way,  but 
was  in  reality  his  habitual  attitude  when  filling  his  pipe. 
From  one  of  these  ridges  we  saw  Caribou  Mountain  near 
by,  really  not  more  pretentious  than  a  foot-hill,  but  which 
in  this  flat  country  bears  the  distinction  of  notable  altitude. 

So  we  travelled  on,  wearied  by  the  very  hard  walking. 


OUR    WOOD- BISON    HUNT 


'3' 


and  wondering  if  indeed  there  were  any  bison  in  the  land. 
At  one  o'clock  we  crossed  a  lake,  but  not  the  one  wc  were 
seeking,  where  we  saw  fresh  moose  and  caribou  tracks, 
which  we  co>uld  not  of  course  afford  to  follow,  at  the  risk 
of  scaring  the  big  game  we  were  after,  much  as  we  should 
have  liked  fresh  meat.  Just  after  crossing  the  lake  the 
Ancient  Warrior  bore  to  the  right  of  a  sharp  little  ridge, 
and  Munn  and  I  gave  the  dogs  a  spell  of  a  few  moments, 
while  we  lighted  our  pipes,  and  joked  about  the  old  man 
having  overlooked  the  ridge,  and  concluded  he  must  have 
gone  snow-blind.  But  even  as  we  talked  he  turned  to  the 
left  and  began  slowly  plodding  up  the  ridge ;  whereupon 
we  agreed  he  was  about  to  send  Joseph  aloft  again,  and 
was  seeking  high  ground.  Perhaps  he,  in  fact,  was— I 
never  asked  him — but  Munn  and  I  had  hardly  reached 
the  foot  of  the  ridge  when  Jeremi  came  hurrying  back 
as  excited  as  a  phlegmatic  Indian  ever  gets,  and  we  sug- 
gested he  had  seen  the  "enemy,"  which  these  supersti- 
tious creatures  are  ever  encountering,  to  their  utter  de- 
moralization. 

But  the  Ancient  Warrior  had  the  joke  on  us  this  time, 
for  he  fairly  whispered,  "  Buffalo."  Instantly  Munn  and  I 
were  tingling.  At  last  the  game  we  had  tramped  so  far  to 
get  was  at  hand  ;  heart-breaking  trails,  leaden  snow-shoes, 
and  rabbits  were  forgotten  as  the  hunter's  blood  swept 
through  our  veins  at  the  mention  of  bison.  We  four 
gathered  closely  in  a  little  circle,  and  then  in  subdued 
tones  Jeremi  told  Joseph,  in  Chipewyan,  and  Joseph,  a  few 
words  at  a  time,  translated  to  us  in  Northland  French,  that 
the  ridge  was  literally  covered  with  tracks,  that  they  were 
fairly  fresh,  that  we  would  leave  the  dogs  where  they  were 
under  cover,  and  take  up  the  bison  trail  at  once. 

I  do  not  become  stirred  easily,  but  when  we  got  on  top 
of  the  ridge  and  the  tracks  were  before  me,  my  heart  quick- 


M 


'I    l' 


11 


n 


'■/i' 


i  1 


.i' 


I; 


I  t 


13-'       ON   SNOW-SIIOKS   TO   TIIK    HAKUKN    GKOUNUS 

encd,  and  there  seemed  no  obstacles  I  could  not  surmount 
to  reach  my  quarry.  There  were  the  tracks,  sure  enough, 
In  broad  paths  like  those  made  by  cattle,  quite  fresh — 
probably  yesterday's.  We  moved  slowly  along  the  ridge, 
Joseph,  Jeremi,  Munn,  and  I,  in  Indian  file,  scanning  the 
willow -surrounded  swamps  on  either  side,  each  stepping 
in  the  other's  shoe -prints,  but  making  quite  a  bit  of 
noise,  nevertheless,  for  the  snow  was  hard,  and  the  shoe 
crunched  and  cracked  it  with  alarming  effect  on  the 
nerves  of  the  stalking  hunter.  Fortunately  a  strong  wind 
blew  in  our  faces.  In  half  a  mile  the  tracks  multiplied, 
and  were  very  fresh — made  that  day — so  we  took  ofi  our 
snow-shoes  and  in  one  another's  footsteps  continued  on  as 
noiselessly  as  possible. 

And  now  the  ridge,  hitherto  thickly  covered  with  pop- 
lar and  pine,  became  a  bare  backbone  which  stretched 
away  about  125  yards  between  swamps,  and  ended  in  a 
sharp  rise  thickly  grown  with  small  spruce. 

We  had  not  advanced  ten  yards  farther  when  we  dis- 
covered, simultaneously,  I  fancy,  for  we  all  crouched  and 
drew  our  rifles  out  of  their  coats  together,  a  shaggy  head 
about  115  yards  in  front  of  us.  A  second  and  careful  look 
told  mc  it  was  a  bison  cow  about  two  years  old,  with  fore- 
head sprinkled  with  either  gray  or  white  hair  on  a  back- 
ground  of  light  brown.  She  was  standing  under  tlie 
spruce  and  just  over  the  rise  of  the  ridge,  so  I  could  see 
only  her  forehead,  eyes,  and  horns,  which  were  about  six 
inches  long,  and  straight  out  from  her  head  with  slight 
curve  at  tips  ;  I  could  not  see  her  muzzle.  The  wind 
was  in  our  favor,  and  she  had  not  scented  us,  though  from 
her  vantage  on  the  knoll  she  had  heard  and  evidently 
seen  us  before  we  sighted  her. 

Munn  and  I  had  not  before  hunted  bison,  but  our  hunt- 
ing experience  was  suflficient  to  make  action  under  such 


OUU    WOOD-UISON    HUNT 


^ii 


y 


conditions  intuitive.  Wc  knew  there  must  be  a  herd  over 
the  ridge.  VVc  wanted  a  bull,  and  had  no  idea  of  firing 
on  a  heifer.  VVc  expected  Jerenii  would  work  around  to 
the  side  and  under  the  ridge,  and  up  to  where  wc  could 
view  and  get  a  shot  at  the  herd ;  or  retreat  and  camp 
several  miles  away,  to  make  another  ap- 
proach next  morning.  The  heifer  might 
scamper  back  to  the  cow,  but  that  would 
not  put  the  herd  to  flight,  and  meanwhile 
we  should  make  our  way  along  the  ridge, 
perfectly  certain  the  herd  would  not  run 
until  they  scented  or  saw  us,  or  we  made 
undue  disturbance.  It  was  a  splendid 
chance  for  a  skilful  stalk,  just  the  situa- 
tion a  hunter  loves  most  dearly.  I  did 
not  consider  the  possibility  of  the  Indians 
shooting,  for  they  had  agreed  at  the  Land- 
ing not  to  fire  until  Munn  and  I  had  done 
so,  and  "  Susie "  said  they  would  keep 
their  word,  and  I  trusted  them.  I  know 
more  of  these  Indians  now  than  I  did  then. 
All  this  of  course  ran  through  my  head 
in  the  few  seconds  I  was  taking  my  look 
at  the  heifer,  and  Jeremi's  stealing  off  to 
the  right  and  a  little  ahead  rather  cor- 
roborated my  mental  sizing  of  the  situa- 
tion. Suddenly,  however,  up  went  the 
guns  of  Jeremi  and  Joseph.  There  was 
no  time  for  remonstrance,  and  Munn  and 
I,  in  sheer  desperation  that  luck  might  direct  the  bullets, 
threw  up  our  guns  also ;  those  of  the  Indians  exploded 
before  we  had  ours  fairly  at  shoulder,  but  we  pulled  trig- 
ger, chiefly  because  of  that  instinct  which  makes  one's 
muscles  at  times  work  in  sympathy  with  one's  wishes. 


ONE   OF   TlIK    01,I> 
KI.IM  -LOCKS 


'I  I 
('I 


134       ON    SNOW-SHOKS   TO   TMK    BARREN   GROUNDS 


>:  ::M 


W 


] 


nil 


I  was  so  stunned  by  the  sudden  turn  of  affairs,  and  so 
exasperated  at  the  Indians,  that  I  was  sorely  tempted  to 
empty  the  magazine  of  my  rifle  into  them.  I  knew  I 
could  not  possibly  have  scored  ;  I  felt  sure  Munn  had 
not,  but  hoped  against  hope  that  he  might  have  got  his 
gun  up  for  a  sight.  I  did  not  think  the  Indians  had,  for 
they  can  hardly  hit  a  barn  door  a  hundred  yards  off.  If  I 
thought  at  all  of  their  scoring,  it  was  that  we  mi^ht  have 
meat,  which  we  needed,  but  even  that,  I  am  «tire,  did  not 
enter  into  consideration. 

The  one  miserable  thought  that  we  had  lost  what  had 
been  a  good  chance  of  getting  a  bison  head  was  upper- 
most, for  this  herd  would  run  for  days,  and  entirely  be- 
yond our  reach.  Simultaneously  with  the  shooting,  the 
heifer  disappeared,  and  we  ran  to  the  top  of  the  knoll  in 
hopes  ot  a  shot  at  the  flying  herd,  but  not  a  hoof  was 
in  sight,  so  rapid  had  been  their  flight,  although  the  ridge 
opened  to  view  three  hundred  yards  away. 

We  discovered  a  few  small  drops  of  blood  where  the 
heifer  had  stood,  counted  the  beds  of  eleven  cows,  and 
noted  the  snow  beaten  dov.n  into  paths  leading  towards 
the  end  of  ridge  and  muskeg  to  the  right ;  and  then  began 
a  mad  race  along  the  faint  trail  of  blood,  in  hopes  that 
the  heifer  might  have  been  more  badly  wounded  than  the 
blood  showed,  and  turned  aside  (as  is  their  custom  when 
hard  hit)  from  the  fleeing  herd.  But  we  had  only  a  hard 
run  in  the  deep  snow  as  recompense. 

And  then  wc  returned  to  our  sledge  and  sat  down  in 
silence,  and  with  the  bitter  realization  that  the  bison-hunt 
was  at  an  end.  We  did  not  say  much,  Munn  and  I ; 
words  could  not  do  our  feelings  justice.  There  is  hunters' 
luck,  and  only  the  sportsman  who  has  sought  big  game, 
and  experienced  its  operations  for  and  against  him,  can 
sound  the  depths  of  our  disappointment.     To  have  got 


OUK    WOOD -BISON    HUNT 


^3S 


near  bison  at  all  was  remarkable,  but  to  have  succeeded 
after  a  long,  hard  hunt  in  actually  seeing  them,  only  to 
have  our  chance  for  a  kill  spoiled  by  the  stupidity  or 
viciousness  of  our  Indians  was  too  keen  a  grief  to  be 
soothed  by  mutual  condolence  or  cursing  Jeremi. 

We  went  on  another  day,  and  saw  old  tracks  of  the 
same  herd,  but  none  others,  and  then  we  turned  our  faces 
Fort-Smithwards,  making  a  circle  to  get  back  to  our  trail 
where  we  had  camped  about  the  second  night.  For 
three  days  we  travelled  by  the  compass,  for  we  were  lost, 
cutting  our  way  through  forests  of  small  fir,  grown  so 
closely  as  to  render  progress  almost  impossible  to  a  man, 
much  less  a  train  of  worn-out  dogs.  The  going  was  verj- 
hard,  and  hunger,  our  provisions  being  gone,  less  easy 
to  bear  now  following  upon  our  disappointment.  On  the 
fourth  day  we  came  out  on  our  trail,  and  that  night  Munn 
and  I  reached  McKinley's  cabin,  after  covering  forty-eight 
miles  between  7  a.m.  and  8  p.m.  Before  we  slept,  we 
poured  our  tale  of  woe  into  "  Mc.'s  "  sympathetic  ears, 
and  then  we  all  decided  the  only  chances  of  success  in  a 
bison-hunt  to  be— time  enoi'gh  to  cover  their  entire  rano^e 
from  north  to  south,  and,  once  on  their  tracks,  binding  the 
Indians  hand  and  foot. 


:l 


HI 


't| 


i| 


I'^^ 


xri 


FROM  FORT  SMITH   TO   GREAT  SLAVE  LAKE 


n  ^ 


ji>''j 


m 


Befork  wo  left  the  Landing  for  our  bison-hunt,  Munn 
and  I  had  decided  to  make  another  attempt  under 
Bushy's  guidance  in  case  we  failed  under  Jeremi's.  But 
by  the  time  we  were  back  at  Fort  Smith  fifteen  days  had 
been  consumed  instead  of  the  promised  six,  and  my  "  ex- 
press" had  returned  from  Fort  Resolution.  The  letter 
he  brought  me  was  not  exactly  cheering  after  our  de- 
pressing hunt.  Gaudet  wrote  that  the  Indians  fear  en- 
tering the  Barrens  at  this  (winter)  season  of  the  year — 
that  they  take  their  lives  in  hand  at  all  seasons,  but 
especially  now,  with  the  danger  of  freezing  added  to  that 
of  starving;  that  he  doubted  gaining  their  consent  to  ac- 
company mo ;  .  .  .  however,  he  had  sent  Bcniah  word  to 
come  to  the  post  at  once. 

As  I  was  already  overdue  at  Resolution,  a  second  bison- 
hunt,  which  I  should  have  liked,  was  out  of  the  question, 
and  so  ]\Iunn  went  alone  with  Bushy,  after  much  difficulty 
in  completing  arrangements — for  a  keg  of  sugar-beer  was 
on  tap  at  Fort  Smith.  As  the  beer  disappeared,  the 
number  of  bison  multiplied,  until,  by  the  time  the  keg 
was  drained.  Bushy  had  proclaimed  acquaintance  with 
the  age  and  disposition  of  every  bison  in  the  country,  and 
assured  Munn  of  heads  for  himself  and  friends,  and  Mc- 
Kinley  of  meat  enough  to  last  through  the  winter.  I  am 
sorry  to  add  that  neither  promise  was  fulfilled. 


, 


in 

er 

d 

1- 

t 
t 


^ 


FROM    l-ORT    SMITH    TO   GREAT   SLAVE   LAKE        137 

What  kind  of  a  time  Munn  had,  and,  incidentally,  what 
hunting  means  in  this  country,  may  be  learned  from  his 
letter,  which  I  received  at  Slave  Lake,  on  my  return  from 
the  Barren  Grounds : 

"Fort  Smith,  A/,in/i  4tb,  1895. 
"Dear  VVhitnky.-I  am  in  a  position  to  sute  jios//iW/y  that 
not  only  are  the  days  now  long,  but  the  nights  are  longer. 

"  Briefly,  the  fourth  day  out  on  the  buffalo-hunt  we  got  a  couple 
of  moose,  and,  of  course,  had  to  camp  there  the  fifth  day,  owing  to 
overeating  of  fresh  n,eat.     The  next  day  we  travelled,  the   next 
loo':ed  for  tracks  of  our  quarry,  and  found  a  sign  twelve  hours  old 
of  a   band   of  about   forty,  and    I   congratulated   myself   on  ab- 
sta.nmg  from  shooting  at  a  moose  that  I  got  witiiin  150  yards  of 
as   we  thought  the  buffalo  were  close.     We  started  at  6.30  the 
followmgday,  made  a  camp  for  the  dogs,  and  travelled  down  the 
track   w.th    hardly  a  spell  till  6  p.m.     We  then  camped  on   the 
tracks  w.th  nothing  to  eat  and  no  axe  or  blanket,  and  next  morn- 
ing I  and  one  of  the  men  went  on,  the  other  weakening  and  re- 
turnmg  to  camp;  five  hours'  hard  travelling  put  us  no  nearer,  and 
the  man  bcmg  sure  they  were  heading  for  a  country  two  days  off  I 
very  reluctantly  gave  up  the  chase  and  returned.     Of  course  vve 
couldn't  make  camp  that  night,  though  we  made  a  bold  push  for 
>t.  and  had  to  lay  out  for  the  second  time  with  no  blanket,  nothing 
to  eat,  and  wet  to  the  skin.     When  it  began  to  blow  cold  towards 
m.dn.ght  and  snow  hard,  I  assure  you  it  was  by  no  means  amusing  • 
my  meal  m  forty-eight  hours  consisted  of  a  half-raw  partridge  and 
for  drmk  we  melted  snow  into  our  gun  covers-I  /ia7v  dined  more 
luxuriously.     What  started  the  buffalo  travelling  thus,  God  in  his 
wisdom  only  knows,  but  they  were,  no  doubt,  heading  for   some 
objective  point,  as  they  journeyed  through  the  densest  "cypre" 
w.th  absolute  directness,  and  the  foregoer  of  the  herd  must  have 
been  a  veritable   Moses  leading  his  followers  to  a  promised  land 
of— I  suppose— muskeg  grass. 

"  You  will  thus  see  that  my  statement  in  the  commencement  of 
th.s  letter  is  a  fact,  and  both  the  days  and  nights  (on  an  empty 
stomach)  are  long,  and  we  travelled  far. 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  of  deer  on  the  islands,  as  you  may  avoid  some 
of  the  misery  of  starvation  on  your  musk-ox  hunt.     I  leave  here 


138      ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO  THE    BARREN   GROUNDS 


w 


on  the  6th  for  civilization.  Ye  gods!  thinic  of  the  luxury  of  a  big. 
hot  bath,  a  good  cigar,  and — but  why  should  I  fill  your  mind  with 
envy  and  all  uncharitableness  ?  Truly,  when  I  think  of  all  you 
have  left  behind  for  the  barrenness  of  the  Barren  Grounds,  I  agree 
with  Puck  :  '  What  fools  these  mortals  be.'  Hoping  you  may  get 
back  speedily  and  with  a  whole  hide. 

"  Yours  sincerely,  Henry  Toke  Munn." 

Munn  as  undoubtedly  deserved  the  heads,  as  Fort  Smith 
stood  in  need  of  meat.  Fort  Smith  is  ahvays  wanting 
meat  or  fish  or  anything  edible.  It  is  the  most  inade- 
quately provided  post  in  the  country,  and  has  the  smallest 
natural  supply,  for  there  are  few  fish  in  the  river,  and,  as  a 
rule,  the  Indians  prefer  "starving"  on  rabbits  the  women 
snare  to  going  back  into  the  country  a  hundred  miles  or 
so,  where  moose  and  woodland  caribou  are  fairly  plentiful. 
Only  "  Mc's  "  success  in  getting  a  moose  kept  us  all  from 
half  rations  after  the  bison -hunt,  and  when  I  passed 
through  on  my  way  back  to  civilization  I 
found  his  children  crying  of  hunger.  Munn's 
hard  luck,  too,  will  convey  some  idea  of  the 
uncertainty  of  result  and  extent  of  endeavor 
incidental  to  hunting.  One  year  he  spent  in 
the  Northland,  making  two  trips  to  the  Bar- 
rens for  musk-ox,  two  after  bison,  and  his  skill 
and  experience  and  untold  hardships  were  re- 
warded by  but  a  single  musk-cow.  Pike  gave 
two  years  of  his  life  to  the  country,  made 
three  trips  to  the  Barrens  before  he  secured 
the  musk-oxen  he  desired,  and  had  one  un- 
successful bison-hunt. 

Two  days  after  our  return  to  Fort  Smith, 
Munn  went  out  with  Bushy,  and  on  the  next  day  I  start- 
ed for  Great  Slave  Lake. 

The  distance  from  Fort  Smith  to  Resolution  is  194  miles 


WOMAN  S 
SHOE, 

Canadian  Snow 
Shoe  Club, 

3  feet  long 


4;  f-^  ttx^- 


.-I'&pjd 


FROM    FORT   SMITH    TO  GREAT   SLAVE   LAKE 


»39 


down  the  Great  Slave  River,  but  portages  reduce  the  pos- 
sible route  to  165  to  170  miles,  which,  as  my  ankle  had 
nearly  mended,  and  my  half-breed  guides  and  dogs  were 
good  traveller*;,  I  expected  to  do  in  four  days.  But  the 
contingencies  of  snow-shoe  travel  are  many.  We  had 
hardly  got  under  way  before  such  cramps  seized  the 
calves  of  my  legs  that  I  could  scarcely  move.  I  sup- 
posed it  merely  muscular  stiffness  caused  by  my  two 
days'  inaction  at  Smith  after  the  hard  day's  run  which 
terminated  the  bison-hunt,  and  that  it  would  wear  off,  so 
I  set  grimly  to  work  to  catch  the  dog-train,  which  was 
going  along  at  a  lively  rate  and  disappearing  down  the 
river. 

No  effort  of  mine,  however,  could  quicken  my  gait  be- 
yond a  shuffling,  painful  hobble,  and  I  did  not  overtake 
the  oulnt  until  a  stop  was  made  for  dinner  fifteen  miles 
farther  on.  I  thought  a  rest  and  a  little  rubbing  would 
relieve  me,  bur  when  we  started  on  again  the  cramps 
spread  to  both  thighs,  and  I  simply  could  not  move.  But 
for  the  pain  I  might  have  thought  my  legs  paralyzed.  I 
signalled  Mercrede,  my  guide,  and  when  I  had  dragged 
myself  up  to  the  dogs,  climbed  on  to  the  sledge,  and  told 
him  to  go  ahead,  thinking  the  spasm  would  pass  off,  and 
meanwhile  we  should  not  lose  time  by  stopping.  There 
was  short  respite  in  this  direction,  however,  for  the  dogs 
could  not  haul  me  in  the  heavy  going  without  "  forcing," 
and  as  they  must  be  saved  at  all  hazards,  I  determined  on 
another  effort  at  walking,  and  failing,  to  camp  and  doctor 
my  muscles.  This  I  made  Mercrede  understand  after 
much  difficulty,  and  then  he  went  on  and  I  tried  to  fol- 
low. I  was  in  no  better  condition  for  travelling  than  be- 
fore ;  a  few  steps  and  then  a  tumble,  followed  by  a  spell 
of  crawling;  another  attempt  at  walking,  and  another  tum- 
ble, until  finally  I  directed  my  entire  energy  to  crawling 


14°       ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO  THE    BARKEN    GROUNDS 


on  hands  .md  knees,  and  thus  I  reached  at  last  the  camp 
iMercrede  had  made  several  miles  below. 

Vigorous  and  continuous  application  of  mustang  lini- 
ment put  me  in  shape  for  travel  the  next  morning.  Ex- 
ceedingly painful  travel,  but  travel  none  the  less,  which 
was,  after  all,  the  main  consideration.  Walking  was  bear- 
able, but  running  set  every  leg  nerve  and  muscle  vibrat- 
ing, and  I  tried  all  possible  ways  of  making  those  half- 
breeds  know  I  wished  them  to  walk.  Hut  they  did  not  or 
would  not  understand,  and  there  was  nothing  left  for  me 
but — to  "  stay  "  with  them,  which  I  did. 

It  was  afterwards  explained  to  me  at  Resolution  why 
they  had  maintained  such  a  pace  despite  my  evident  suf- 
fering. It  seems  I  had  made  in  the  country  some  renown 
as  a  runner — a  case  of  honor  being  thrust  upon  me,  for  I 
cannot  see  that  I  merited  it,  unless  the  Indians  deemed 
perseverance  worthy  of  such  distinction.  However,  I 
gained  the  reputation  nevertheless,  and  it  travelled  ahead 
of  me  from  post  to  post.  Now  as  the  Indians  and  half- 
breeds  are  exceedingly  jealous  of  their  own  reputation  as 
runners,  and  probably  did  not  fancy  a  white  man  even  un- 
willingly sharing  it,  the  result  was  that  every  pair  of 
guides  I  secured  set  out  to  thoroughly  test  my  qualifica- 
tions for  the  name  which  had  been  given  me.  As  I  got 
fresh  guides  and  dogs  at  each  Hudson  Bay  post  on  my 
journey,  it  may  be  implied  I  was  kept  busy.  Mercrede 
and  his  companion  were  the  first  two  that  had  found  me 
/lors  dc  combat,  so  to  say,  and  they  proceeded  to  have  a 
good  time  with  me.  Well,  they  had  it.  At  first  I  brought 
to  my  aid  all  the  signs  and  Indian  words,  Cree  and  Chipe- 
wyan,  I  knew,  in  a  serious  and  laborious  effort  to  make  them 
understand  how  painful  it  was  for  me  to  run.  And  they 
looked  wise  and  solemn,  and  nodded  assent  —  and  then 
started  out  and  went  as  hard  as  ever. 


n 

o 

w 

z 

?J 
o 

c 


f.  ■  .1 


m  1 


' 


' 


FROM    FORT    SMITH     lO   CREAT    Sl.ANK    I.AKL        143 

After  one  or  two  of  these  attempts  at  fruitless  persua- 
sion I  developed  a  large  and  righteous  anger,  which  was 
somewhat  relieved  by  a  cursing  that  exhausted  a  vocabu- 
lary of  wide  and  highly  colored  range,  and  which  the  Ind- 
ians did  not  understand— more's  the  pity,  for  I  am  sure 
the  brilliant  and  contrasting  effects  would  have  appealed 
to  their  picturesque  nature— and  thereafter  they  had  not 
the  satisfaction  of  hearing  a  whimper  nor  of  running  away 
from  me. 

Later  one  of  them  came  near  ending  my  misery  once 
and  for  all  time  by  felling  a  tree,  which  crashed  into  the 
snow  not  six  inches  from  where  I  was  stooping  tying  my 
moccasin. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  we  came  to  the  cabin 
of  Carr  and  Duncan,  the  only  two  white  trappers  in  the 
country.  It  was  a  joy  to  hear  English  again,  and  a  com- 
fort to  get  in-doors  before  a  fire ;  and  when  I  left  they 
had  braced  me  up  mentally  and  physically  by  their  hearty 
welcome  and  the  heaping  plates  of  lynx  meat  they  set  in 
front  of  me,  and  which  is  very  tender  and  savory,  and 
tastes  a  little  like  veal.  It  was  just  as  well  I  did  eat  plen- 
teously  here,  for  one  of  my  stupid  Indians,  when  repack- 
ing the  sledge,  left  out  our  small  sack  of  provisions,  and 
that  night  when  the  discovery  was  made  and  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  trip  we  shared  some  wretched  dried  fish 
with  the  dogs. 

The  last  half  of  the  journey  was  exceedingly  trying. 
because  the  storms  violently  disputed  our  progress,  and 
the  dogs  were  fagged  by  the  depth  of  snow-fall.  It  was 
on  one  of  these  last  hard  days  that,  as  I  opened  my  note- 
book in  the  morning  to  write  of  the  day  before,  I  was  re- 
minded of  a  little  dinner  given  me  just  on  the  eve  of  my 
departure  from  New  York,  at  which  five  of  my  warmest 
friends  had  sat,  and  pledged  my  health  and  success,  and 


'<' 


144      ON   SNOWSHOKS   TO   TIIK    HAURKN    GROUNDS 


-.  I 


M 


M 


promised  to  drink  to  it  again  on  Washington's  birtliday. 
And  as  I  wrote  February  22d  in  my  journal  that  morning, 
tliat  dch'ghtful  evening  seemed  so  long  ago ;  but  with  the 
storm  howling  about  me  I  drank  their  healths  in  strongest 
tea,  and  felt  sure  they  too  had  drunk  mine. 

It  was  one  o'clock  of  the  fifth  day  when  we  came  to  the 
end  of  the  (about)  twenty-mile  portage  which  connects 
Great  Slave  River  with  Great  Slave  Lake,  and  carries  the 
voyagiiir  over  the  last  stage  of  his  journey  from  Fort 
Smith  to  Resolution.  The  wind  had  subsided  and  the 
atmosphere  cleared  of  flying  snow  as  we  toiled  through 
the  heavy  going  to  the  timber's  edge,  flanked  on  either 
side  by  closely  growing  and  winter-bemantled  pine;  and 
when  we  finally  reached  the  open,  and  the  great  frozen 
lake  lay  before  us,  the  dogs  were  stopped  for  a  spell,  while 
the  Indians  got  out  their  best  mittens,  relaced  their  moc- 
casins, and  lighted  pipes. 

These  preparations  were  always  an  infallible  and,  for 
most  of  the  time,  the  only  sign  on  the  journey  from  La 
Biche  to  Resolution  by  which  I  knew  we  were  approach- 
ing our  destination.  On  the  two  occasions  when  speech 
with  my  guides  was  possible  the  only  information  I  could 
ever  elicit  in  reply  to  my  inquiries  concerning  distance 
was  that  it  was  either  a  little  or  a  big  "  piece  "  off.  As  a 
"  little  piece  "  meant  anywhere  from  five  miles  to  a  dav 
or  a  day  and  a  half's  travel,  and  a  "  big  piece  "  from  a 
day  and  a  half  to  three  or  four  or  even  more  days,  I 
was  never  able,  until  I  learned  to  interpret  the  signs  of 
changing  costume,  to  form  any  idea  of  our  relative  lo- 
cation. 

When  arriving  at  or  departing  from  a  post  the  Indians 
invariably  clothe  themselves  in  their  most  highly  orna- 
mented moccasins,  mittens,  and  leggings,  and  whip  the 
dogs  into  their  fastest  pace.    En  route,  however,  these  gay 


1  •*iiii.>ii'>»i»i  «  itjiii   tr'tt 


H 

m 

O 
o 

c 

«1 


t 


mm !  ^ 


i  I 


t 


Hi! 


IKUM    lOKT   SMITH    TO   IIKKAT    SI, AVI",    I.AKM 


'47 


tnippiii<Ts  are  cxchanf;cil  An-  iiKirc  sombre  ones.  On  tlie 
morning'  of  the  trip's  last  day  the  decorated  leggings  arc 
again  put  on,  but  the  best  moccasins  arc  not  brought 
forth  unless  the  post  is  to  be  reached  before  noon,  and 
the  mittens  not  before  the  journey  is  within  a  few  hours 
of  its  end — sometimes  not  until  the  last  pipe,  which  is 
filled  and  lighted  during  a  daj-'s  running  about  once  every 
hour  and  a  half — as  was  the  case  when  we  halted  for  our 
first  look  at  Great  Slave  Lake,  whose  glistening  surface 
stretched  away  to  the  west  far  beyond  the  range  t)f 
sight. 

It  is  always  customary,  too,  to  stop  for  a  pipe  when 
they  come  within  sight  of  the  journey's  end — no  matter 
if  it  is  only  a  couple  of  miles  away  and 
everybody  and  the  dogs  arc  faint  with 
hunger  and  worn  with  fatigue.  They  are 
true  to  the  philosophy  that  deems  antici- 
pation better  than  realization.  And  so 
we  stood  and  looked  at  Resolution  ami 
its  little  line  of  cabins  straggling  along 
the  lake's  northern  shore  si.\  miles  away, 
while  IMercredc  arrayed  himself  in  elab- 
orately beaded  moccasins,  and  I  warmed 
with  thankfulness  too  deep  for  words  that 
the  final  stage  of  my  900  miles  was  com- 
pleted, and  the  outfitting  post  for  the  Bar- 
ren Grounds  in  view  at  last. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  fort,  an  hour 
and  a  quarter  later,  Gaudet  welcomed  me 
with  characteristic  Northland  heartiness,  and  there  was  a 
commotion  among  the  natives;  for  the  coming  of  the 
"white  hunter"  had  been  heralded,  and  they  were  curious 
to  see  what  manner  of  man  was  this  who  had  penetrated 
the   stupendous   North    at    its    most    forbidding   season. 


SEAUTEAIX  SllOK, 
Sask.itiliuwan, 


fi! 


14S       ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO   THE   BARREN    GROUNDS 

But  I  was  too  happy  in  the  accomplishment  of  my  trip 
to  recite  details,  and  too  worn  to  give  heed  to  the  whis- 
perings and  jostlings  of  the  men,  women,  and  children 
that  gathered  about  and  followed  me  to  the  door  of  Gau- 
det's  cabin. 


i    I 


XITI 


MAKING    READY    FOR    THE   BARREN   GRG'JNDS 


The  boiling  of  the  teakettle  always  follows  swiftly  upon 
the  arrival  of  a  voyagcur  in  this  desolate  but  hospitable 
land,  and  it  was  not  many  minutes  before  Gaudet's  sister, 
who  proved  a  ministering  angel  during  my  stay  at  Reso- 
lution, had  poured  a  cup  of  tea  and  placed  before  me 
some  caribou  ribs,  the  first  fresh  meat  I  had  seen  since 
leaving  La  Biche.  Nowhere  in  my  experience  have  I  wit- 
nessed more  disinterested  hospitality  than  in  this  great 
lone  land.  From  north  to  south — from  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  officer  to  the  poorest  Indian  hunter,  among  the 
half-breeds  at  the  post  or  the  Indians  in  the  woods,  in  the 
log  cabins  or  in  the  caribou-skin  tepees — the  entrance  of 
a  guest  is  invariably  the  signal  for  stirring  up  the  fire  and 
putting  on  the  teakettle ;  or,  if  there  is  no  tea,  which  is 
more  frequently  the  case  with  the  Indians,  of  putting  a 
piece  of  meat  on  to  boil ;  or,  if  there  is  none,  of  offering 
dried  meat  or  fish,  or  the  best  of  whatever  there  may  be. 

The  successful  hunter  pays  ample  tribute  to  his  skill. 
While  the  meat  lasts  his  lodge  is  never  cleared  of  the  less 
fortunate,  and  the  squaw  is  never  done  cooking,  and  feed- 
ing the  halfstarved  that  squat  about  the  fire  in  ever- 
changing  but  never  diminishing  circles.  I  marvelled  at 
this  lavish  hospitality  while  living  with  the  Indians,  for  it 
was  never  at  any  time  a  giving  out  of  plenty,  and  always 
meant  subsequent  want  for  the  entertainers.     I  have  seen 


I 

i 


S 


I 

I 


150       ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO  THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 

every  bit  of  meat  put  into  the  kettle  and  handed  around, 
until  the  last  scrap  was  eaten,  and  the  host  and  myself  go 
hungry  for  two  djys  afterwards.  When  we  were  making 
our  way  towards  the  Barren  Grounds  I  saw  an  Indian  of 
our  party,  who  I  knew  had  not  eaten  meat  for  two  days, 
bring  forth  a  bone  saved  from  the  dog  feed,  handle  it 
almost  fondly  before  the  fire,  and  then  divide  it  among 
one  or  two  of  his  fellows. 

It  is  so  the  world  over.  Those  that  have  least  to  give, 
give  of  their  little  the  more  spontaneously.  We  need  not 
go  to  this  barren  land  for  example ;  we  may  see  it  on  the 
streets  of  our  great  cities.  I  have  often  noted  the  penny 
dropped  into  the  outstretched  importuning  hand  of  the 
miserably  clad  begger  by  a  passing  figure  scarcely  better 
clothed  than  the  supplicant  for  alms.  And  its  explana- 
tion is  not  difficult:  that  mite  comes  from  one  who  has 
known — perhaps  knows — the  distress  of  hunger  and  the 
misery  of  cold. 

With  the  Indians  this  applies  more  particularly  to  re- 
lations among  themselves;  towards  the  white  man  their 
generosity  is  not  so  disinterested ;  they  will  give  of  their 
best,  but  expect  threefold  in  return,  and  so  long  as 
you  have  tea  and  tobacco  you  are  entire  master  of  the 
situation  ;  for  there  is  nothing  you  cannot  obtain  with 
one  or  the  other  of  these  North  Country  luxuries,  and, 
moreover,  there  is  no  peace  for  you  so  long  as  either  re- 
mains. 

If  o'  2  is  inexperienced  in  roughing  life,  or  lacks  decision, 
and,  let  us  say,  heartlessness  to  say  "  no,"  this  country  is 
no  place  for  him,  for  more  persistent  and  skilled  beggars  are 
probably  not  to  be  found  anywhere.  I  was  annoyed  a  great 
deal  at  first  for  the  reason  that  Pike  had  been  improvident 
of  his  provisions,  and  I  suppose  it  spread  abroad  in  the 
'and  that  white  men  were  easy  to  "  work."     So  when   I 


• 

go 

■)-;■■■ 

1 

ng 

v' 

1 ' 

j^ 

of 

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■ 

it 

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b 

ng 

\  I 

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he 

fl 

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ny 
he 

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ter 

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Cf 

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las 

15 

fl 

It 


> 


0: 


,,•.;  ^ 


i 


MAKING   READY   FOR  THE   BARREN   GROUNDS      153 


came  along  they  had  new  lessons  to  learn  before  we  "  un- 
derstood one  another."  Personally  I  acknowledge  I  pre- 
fer the  Indians  to  the  half-breeds.  Of  course  I  met 
splendid  exceptions,  notably  Gaudet  and  Spencer,  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  officers,  and  three  of  the  company's 
servants  —  Michael  Manderville,  the  interpreter  at  Reso- 
lution, and  Francois  and  William  Pini,  at  Chipewyan, 
of  whom  I  have  already  spoken:  but,  as  a  rule,  the 
half-breeds  are  less  tolerable  than  the  Indians.  And  that 
is  saying  a  great  deal.  It  is  a  question  of  two  evils.  One 
would  repent  of  either  choice.  Both  in  general  are  un- 
trustworthy, avaricious,  and  uncleanly,  but  the  half-breed 
is  nearer  the  white  man  in  the  viciousness  of  his  hypoc- 
risy. The  white  blood  in  his  veins  comes  from  the  lowest 
strains,  and  has  given  him  the  cunning  of  a  higher  intelli- 
gence without  imparting  the  better  attributes  of  the  more 
civilized  prototype. 

It  is  much  easier  for  civilized  man  to  become  savage 
than  for  a  savage  to  become  civilized. 

How  I  slept  that  first  night  of  my  arrival  at  Resolution  ! 
The  comfort  of  a  full  stomach,  the  satisfaction  of  being  at 
the  scene  of  action,  so  to  speak,  were  soothing  beyond  ex- 
pression. At  any  time,  no  matter  how  long  hence,  I  am 
sure  if  ever  I  sit  back  in  my  chair  and  reflect  upon  the 
period  of  utmost  complacency  in  my  past  life,  those  two 
weeks  at  Resolution  will  be  immediately  recalled.  My 
bed  was  the  board  floor;  the  substance  of  my  daily 
fare,  caribou  meat,  tea,  and  bread  ;  my  daily  occupation, 
running  from  ten  to  fifteen  miles  to  keep  in  condition ; 
the  atmosphere,  arctic ;  not  a  bird  note  to  break  the  si- 
lence of  the  woods,  nor  a  bit  of  pretty  scenery  to  relieve 
the  monotony  of  the  great  desert  of  snow — but  I  was  no 
longer  jaded  in  body  and  mind,  there  was  no  hunger,  I 
was  in  magnificent  physical  condition,  and  just  at  the  door 


154    ON  Snow-shoes  to  the  isarren  grounds 


I  ;i 


i  ; 


of  the  desolate  waste  which  was  to  open  for  a  successful 
venture  or  close  upon  me  forever. 

It  was  well  I  had  not  delayed  my  departure  from  Fort 
Smith,  nor  gone  with  Munn  for  the  second  try  at  bison, 
for  Gaudet  told  me  that  my  non-appearance  so  long  after 
the  appointed  day  had  convinced  him  I  had  yielded  to  per- 
suasion, and  given  up  my  intention  of  making  an  attempt  to 
get  into  the  Barren  Grounds  until  the  later  and  usual  time. 
He  said  that  the  runner  he  had  sent  after  Beniah  could 
not  find  him  ;  that  Beniah  was  somewhere  in  the  woods 
hunting,  and  the  heavy  snow-falls  had  made  following  his 
tracks  impossible;  but  the  runner  had  seen  some  Indians 
who  were  likely  to  meet  Beniah  and  tell  him  he  was 
wanted  at  the  fort.  This  was  all  satisfactory  enough  so 
far  as  it  went,  but  it  left  me  in  doubt  as  to  when  I  might 
<  :pect  to  get  ofT  for  musk-ox.  The  second  day  after  my 
arrival,  however,  an  Indian  came  in  with  a  note  from  Be- 
niah, written  in  the  hieroglyphics  which  the  priests  of  the 
Oblates  Fathers  invented  when  first  they  began  their  mis- 
sionary work  in  this  country. 

Beniah  said,  first  of  all,  he  heard  I  was  a  "great  chief" 
(these  Indians  are  cute  diplomats);  that  no  one  had  ever 
ventured  into  the  Barren  Grounds  at  that  season ;  but  he 
would  come  into  the  post  to  talk  the  matter  over  seriously 
so  soon  as  he  shot  enough  meat  to  make  the  trip  of  six 
days  possible,  which  meant  that  we  should  see  him  in  from 
eight  to  ten  days. 

Next  day  Mercrcde  and  his  dogs  started  back  for  Fort 
Smith,  carrying  the  only  letter  I  was  able  to  send  out  dur- 
ing my  six  months'  absence,  and  which  Munn,  who  in- 
tended making  his  way  to  Edmonton  on  his  return  from 
the  bison-hunt  with  Bushy,  had  promised  me  to  carry. 

And  so  I  settled  to  active  preparation  to  be  in  readiness 
on  the  arrival  of  Beniah,  who  I  was  determined  to  induce 


m 


rt 
n- 


idt..«^    >  .  vit.  i  ^.I-  -lAia^i^i-auii 


SaffiS^K'«5$f/»l!«B-.s. 


MAKING    READY    FOR   THE    BARKEN   GROUNDS      157 


to  make  the  trip.  There  were  dogs  and  an  interpreter  and 
a  driver  to  engage,  moccasins  and  dufifel  and  mittens  and 
strouds  to  make,  and  a  heavy  caribou-fur  capote  and  win- 
ter-caribou robe  for  sleeping  to  secure.  Nobody  appeared 
to  enter  upon  the  task  with  much  zest,  and  every  one 
shook  his  head  and  warned  me  against  the  trip.  All 
agreed  that  it  was  an  impossible  undertaking,  and  Gaudet 
used  his  utmost  persuasion  to  induce  me  to  delay  my  de- 
parture until  the  usual  time  of  the  musk-ox  hunt. 

The  Indians  time  their  hunting  trips  to  the  liarren 
Grounds  (they  never  go  there  except  after  musk-ox)  with 
the  movement  of  the  caribou  —  /.  r.,  the  early  summer, 
about  the  last  of  April  or  first  part  of  May,  when  the  cows 
begin  their  migration  from  the  woods  to  the  Arctic  Ocean, 
and  in  the  early  autumn,  September  and  October, 

Caribor  are  absolutely  necessary  to  the  penetration  of 
the  Barren  Grounds,  because  of  the  impossibility  of  either 
obtaining  a  sufficient  supply  of  provisions  to  last  out  the 
trip,  or  carrying  them  if  such  were  to  be  had.  This  I  find 
to  be  the  most  diflficult  thing  for  my  hunting  friends  to 
comprehend.  They  have  asked  me  if  an  adequate  supply 
could  not  be  carried  in  from  the  railroad  to  Resolution. 
Possibly  so,  but  it  would  have  to  be  done  a  year  in  ad- 
vance, and  then  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  steamer 
and  flatboats. 

Assuming  that  such  a  supply  had  been  laid  in  at  Reso- 
lution, I  cannot  see,  because  of  the  scarcity  of  dog  trains, 
that  the  hunter  would  be  much  better  off  than  before,  un- 
less of  course  time  was  no  object,  and  he  was  prepared  to 
make  one  preliminary  journey  into  the  Barrens  to  cache 
the  provisions  at  different  points  en  route,  and  willing  to 
remain  in  the  country  a  year  or  two.  Pike  made  one  hunt 
in  the  best  and  easiest  way  by  making  a  previous  trip  into 
the  Barrens  solely  for  the  purpose  of  killing  and  caching 


i\\ 


\SS       ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO   TIIK    llARKKN    CIROUNUS 


I  ,;  \ 


caribou,  which  Icisencd  tlic  chances  of  starvation  on  his 
next  attempt,  when,  in  addition  to  the  cached  meat,  the 
opportunity  of  adding  to  the  supply  was  offered  by  the 
moving  bands  of  caribou.  Yet  he  had  a  very  hard  time 
of  it.  Munn  on  his  summer  trin  had  the  caribou  and  fish 
in  the  numberless  lakes;  on  his  autumn  trip  he  attempted 
to  better  conditions  by  taking  along  a  supply  of  pounded 
dried  meat,  which  was  speedily  exhausted,  and,  caribou  be- 
ing scarce,  he  and  his  party  and  their  dogs  had  a  starving 
time  of  it  indeed. 

Midsummer  is  of  course  the  season  in  which  one  may 
visit  the  Barrens  with  least  danger,  for  at  that  time  you 
travel  by  canoe,  caribou  are  plentiful — if  you  are  lucky 
enough  to  find  them,  for  they  are  very  uncertain  in  their 
movements — the  thermometer  rarely  gets  below  freezing- 
point  (though  you  are  persecuted  beyond  endurance  by 
mosquitoes),  and  the  winds  have  lost  much  of  their  fury. 
But  in  summer-time  the  musk-ox  fur  is  not  prime,  and  of 
course  musk-ox  is  the  only  excuse  for  visiting  the  God- 
forsaken place.  And  so  trips  are  confined  to  the  spring 
and  autumn,  when  the  trials  are  more  severe,  but  the  re- 
ward greater.  The  Indians  go  in  parties  of  from  four  to 
six  ;  never  less  than  four,  because  they  could  not  cany 
sufificient  wood  to  enable  them  to  get  far  enough  into  the 
Barrens  for  reasonable  hope  of  getting  musk-oxen  ;  and 
rarely  more  than  six,  because  by  the  time  they  have  gone 
as  far  as  six  sledges  of  wood  will  permit,  they  have  had 
all  the  freezing  and  starving  they  can  stand,  even  though 
no  musk-oxen  have  been  forthcoming. 

Many  parties  go  into  the  Barrens  and  never  see  even  a 
musk-ox  track,  and  many  more  skirmish  along  the  edge, 
fearful  of  a  plunge  into  the  interior,  yet  hoping  for  the 
sight  of  a  stray  ox.  Wood  must  be  carried,  not  for 
warmth  nor  necessarily  to  cook  meat,  but  to  boil  tea  ;  for 


jm__,j).,lii...a»ii'ffiji"i'WW^f'^»<'.  I*"..'  '..','!.'" 


,Mll.!,J,LI!il|lWJsi| 


MAKING   KKADV    FOR    THE    IJAUKEN   GROUNDS      i,S9 


man  could  not  endure  the  fatigue  and  cold  and  starvation 
without  the  stimulus  of  hot  tea  once  or  twice  a  day. 
When  the  sledges  are  loaded  with  the  requisite  supply  of 
wood  and  the  sleeping-robes  there  is  no  room  left  for 
provisions.  To  take  more  sledges  would  mean  more  men, 
more  dogs,  more  mouths  to  feed,  with  no  added  prospect 
of  feeding  them.  Thus  it  is  that  no  attempt  is  made  to 
carry  in  provisions,  and  that  a  visit  to  the  home  of  the 
musk-ox  is  always  attended  by  great  danger,  and  never 
without  much  suffering,  be  the  se;'son  what  it  may.  None 
but  the  younger  and  hardiest  and  most  e.xperienced  Ind- 
ians go  into  the  Barrens,  and  to  be  a  musk-ox  hunter  is 
their  highest  conception  of  courage  and  skill  and  en- 
durance. 

Bearing  in  mind  these  conditions,  it  may  be  imagined 
with  what  disfavor  my  proposed  visit  in  early  March  was 
viewed.  No  one  would  hire  me  dogs,  asserting  I  should 
never  get  them  back  alive ;  and  if  Gaudet  had  not  come 
to  my  rescue,  and  let  me  have  his  own  train,  I  fear  I 
should  have  been  obliged  to  delay  my  hunt  until  the 
usual  time.  I  shall  never  forget  the  kindness  of  Gaudet 
and  his  sister — he  helped  me  in  my  search  for  an  inter- 
preter and  dog-driver,  and  in  my  studies  of  the  country 
and  people ;  she  saw  that  my  moccasins  and  duffel  were 
properly  worked,  and  herself  made  me  a  pair  of  slippers 
of  unborn  musk-ox  hide,  to  be  worn  next  the  skin,  fur  side 
in  ;  and  both  of  them  heaped  curios  upon  me  in  such 
generous  profusion  that  I  grew  afraid  of  expressing  admi- 
ration for  anything,  lest  they  give  it  to  me  forthwith. 
These  seem  little  things,  no  doubt,  to  the  inhabitant  of 
the  grand  pays,  but  in  that  country  the  little  thijigs  are 
everything,  and  Gaudet  and  his  sister  gave  freely  of  their 
all,  and  seemed  sorry  they  could  not  do  more. 

Meanwhile  T  was  awaiting  Beniah,  taking  photographs, 


l6o       ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO   TMK    IIAUKKN    GROUNDS 


N  ■' 


ll!' 


writing  up  my  journal,  keeping  in  condition,  and  rejoicing 
that  I  had  found  a  country  where  whistling  is  an  un- 
known vice,  and  "Comrades"  has  not  yet  desecrated 
melody. 

I  did  not  propose  to  have  any  more  cramps  in  my  legs 
if  training  would  provide  against  them.  I  knew  such  a 
condition  in  the  Barrens  would  put  an  end  to  all  hope  of 
musk-ox,  or  of  my  getting  out  to  tell  how  I  didn't  shoot 
one.  So  nearly  every  afternoon  I  took  a  twelve  to  fifteen 
mile  run  on  Great  Slave  Lake,  and,  what  with  the  good 
meat  I  was  eating  three  times  daily  and  this  exercise,  I 
was  so  "  fit "  when  I  started  for  the  Barrens  that  no  Ind- 
ians ran  me  off  my  legs,  as  I  was  told  they  would  on  the 
trip  across  the  lake.  On  one  of  the  afternoons  I  experi- 
enced how  suddenly  a  lake  storm  gathers,  and  with  what 
force  it  bursts  upon  the  luckless  traveller.  Had  I  not 
fortunately  put  my  compass  in  my  pocket  that  very 
morning  I  should  probably  have  been  on  that  lake  yet, 
for  the  snow  whirled  around  me  at  such  a  pace  and  in 
such  quantities  as  to  darken  the  atmosphere,  and  the  wind 
beat  upon  me  with  so  great  a  force  that,  bent  almost 
double,  I  could  barely  keep  moving.  I  had  great  diffi- 
culty in  reading  the  needle  or  following  the  direction  it 
indicated  ;  but  when  the  prospect  of  a  night  on  the  lake 
seemed  surest,  the  wind  that  was  blowing  offshore  carried 
the  evening  tolling  of  the  mission  bell  to  me,  and  sweeter 
sound  I  never  heard  ! 

Fort  Resolution  is  one  of  the  most  important  posts  in 
the  country.  Though  it  has  not  so  many  claims  to  dis- 
tinction as  Chipewyan,  its  natural  resources  for  food  are 
much  greater ;  for  near  by  is  the  most  productive  fishery 
in  the  country  ;  the  Dog-Rib  and  Yellow-Knife  Indians 
generally  keep  it  supplied  with  caribou  meat  in  winter, 
and  geese  and  ducks  are  fairly  plentiful  in  spring.     Fur- 


MAKING  READY    FOR   TIIK    IIARRKN   GROUN'DS      i6i 


thermorc,  it  is  the  only  post  that  secures  any  quantity  of 
the  country  luxury — grease;  thoujjh  the  Indians  never 
bring  in  marrow,  which  is  a  very  palatable  tidbit.  The 
grease  they  do  bring  in  is  the  fat  from  along  the  back  and 
around  the  joints  of  the  caribou,  which  is  called  hard 
grease,  in  contradistinction  to  the  marrow ;  that  is  soft. 
Hoth  of  these  are  used  in  making  pemmican,  that  is  made 
of  dried  meat  pounded  into  shreds  and  mixed  with  grease, 
and  rolled  into  balls  or  made  into  square  or  round  slabs. 

Pemmican,  however,  is  a  rare  article  nowadays,  and  not 
to  be  found  anywhere  south  of  Resolution,  and  only  there 
on  occasion.  This  is  chiefly  because  caribou  are  not  so 
plentiful  as  they  were  formerly  and  the  Indians  keep 
most  of  the  grease  for  their  own  consumption.  Nor  do 
they  make  pemmican  to  any  great  extent,  their  substitute 
for  it  being  the  pounded  meat,  which  is  carried  in  little 
caribou-skin  bags  when  travelling,  and  eaten  with  the 
grease — a  pinch  of  pounded  meat  and  a  bite  of  grease.  I 
must  confess  that  a  plate  of  pounded  dried  meat  and 
several  good-sized  lumps  of  clear  grease  were  about  the 
most  tempting  morsels  I  had  set  before  me  at  any  time 
on  my  trip.  Perhaps  I  should  not  care  for  cither  now, 
but  on  the  especial  occasions  I  was  favored  I  believed  an 
epicure  who  did  not  smack  his  lips  in  relish  would  be  im- 
possible to  please.  One  never  gets  enough  of  grease  in 
the  Northland ;  it  is  eaten  as  some  in  the  civilized  world 
consume  sugar ;  in  fact,  I  developed  a  craving  for  sweets 
that  even  grease  did  not  satisfy,  chiefly,  I  expect,  because 
the  supply  was  so  limited,  and  somewhat  notable  in  my 
case  for  the  reason  that  ordinarily  I  seldom  if  ever  touch 
sweets.  The  absence  of  bread  and  vegetables,  and  the 
excessive  cold,  undoubtedly  combine  to  excite  the  desire 
for  both  grease  and  sweets. 

Resolution,  next  to  Fort  Simpson,  is  credited,  I  believe, 
II 


f'DI 


H^'r'' 


I 


P' 


162       ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO  THE  BARKEN    GROUNDS 

with  sending  out  the  greatest  number  of  fur  packs ;  but 
however  that  may  be,  it  certainly  is  the  scene  in  summer 
of  the  largest  congregation  of  Indians  when  they  come 
out  of  tlic  woods,  pitch  their  lodges  on  the  lake  shore, 
and  settle  down  to  trade  their  fur  and  worry  Gaudet  into 
giving  them  credit. 

Trading  with  an  Indian  is  no  trivial  matter.  There  is 
first  to  get  him  to  put  a  value  on  his  fur,  and  then  to  con- 
vince him  that  there  is  enough  -.tock  on  hand  to  pay  him. 
There  is  of  course  no  money  in  this  country,  a  "  made 
beaver "  skin  being  the  standard  of  value  by  which  all 
trade  is  conducted — as,  for  example,  a  marten  is  worth 
from  two  to  three  beaver-skins,  a  bear-pelt  about  twenty 
beaver-skins,  and  a  beaver-skin  itself  from  six  to  twelve 
"  made  beaver."  On  rough  calculation  the  "  made  bea- 
ver" is  equal  to  about  fifty  cents,  though  it  fluctuates 
throughout  the  country. 

When  the  Indian  has  finally  agreed  upon  a  price  for  his 
fur,  he  proceeds  at  once  to  the  company  "store,"  and 
then  the  intricate  business  of  trading  against  his  credit  of 
"made  beaver"  skins  begins.  It  i.--  impossible  to  de-^i 
with  more  than  one  Indian  at  a  time,  and  so  they  are 
taken  into  the  "  store  "  singly,  and  the  do>  •  is  bolted,  and 
life  immediately  becomes  a  burden  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  officer.  If  there  is  anything  in  the  stock  that 
has  not  been  overhauled  and  priced  before  the  Indian  ex- 
hausts his  credit,  it  is  only  because  it  is  out  of  sight.  But 
in  a  way  he  is  a  satisfactory  sort  of  a  customer.  He  is 
not  exacting  as  to  what  he  gets,  so  long  as  he  gets  some- 
thing; he  may  really  want  beads  or  duffel,  but  if  there  is 
none  of  either  lie  as  readily  takes  a  copper  teakettle  or  a 
knife.  It  is  quite  unimportant  that  he  may  .ictually  need 
neither. 

He  is  particular  on  one  point  only,  and  that  is,  he  never 


MAKING  READY  FOR  THE  BARREN  GROUNDS   163 

leaves  the  store  so  long  as  he  has  a  "made  beaver"  to 
spend,  and  when  he  has  used  up  his  due  he  always  makes 
an  eloquent  and  vigorous  appeal  for  gratuity  or  debt.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  these  Indians  are  most  considerately  and 
generously  treated  by  the  company  ;  they  are  paid  a  good 
price  for  their  fur,  and  the  worthy,  and  many  times  the 
unworthy,  arc  often  given  both  debt  and  gratuity.  There 
are  no  Indians  I  know  of  that  are  better  treated,  and  few 
as  well.  Nor  have  I  ever  visited  a  country  where  trade 
competition  operated  less  to  the  advantage  of  the  natives. 
The  few  independent  traders  that  have  worked  their  way 
into  this  North  country  have  done  little,  so  far  as  I  could 
see,  beyond  raising  the  value  of  certain  kinds  of  fur  above 
its  fair  marketable  value,  which  in  some  lines  has  necessi- 
tated the  introduction  of  an  inferior  quality  of  stuff  for 
trade.     So  that  the  Indian  has  really  been  the  loser. 

Although  several  hundred  Indians  bring  their  fur  to 
Resolution,  and  the  "census"  of  the  post  is  returned  as 
about  300,  as  at  Chipewyan  the  actual  residence  is  far 
below  that  number — in  fact,  seven  families,  that  comprise 
sixty  souls.  Great  Slave  Lake  itself  is  one  of  the  lar^,  vst 
bodies  of  fresh  water  in  the  world  being  300  miles  long, 
with  an  estimated  area  of  from  11,200  to  15,000  square 
miles.  Great  Bear  Lake  is  but  a  couple  thousand  square 
miles  smaller,  and  the  size  of  both  may  be  judged  by  com- 
paring them  with  Lake  Michigan,  which  has  20,000  square 
miles.  Fancy  Lake  Michigan  a  solid  sheet  of  dazzling 
white,  its  shores  broken  by  deep  bays  and  sparsely  cov- 
ered with  smallish  pine,  and  everywhere  silence  and  deso- 
lation and  snow,  and  you  have  some  idea  of  Great  Slave 
Lake  in  winter. 


^1 


r 


.va 


XIV 
reniah's  arrival 

With  the  first  Sunday  in  March  came  the  anxiously 
awiited  Beniah,  in  a  cariole,  as  befitting  a  iiunter  of  his 
reputation,  and  with  an  attendant,  also  riding,  as  became 
the  servant  of  so  powerful  a  leader.  I  may  say  in  pass- 
ing that  Bcniah  has  a  very  accurate  conception  of  his 
importance,  and  never  fails  to  impress  it  upon  those  with 
whom  he  comes  in  contact.  He  is  really  the  best  hunter 
in  the  country,  and  in  Northland  possessions  —  fur  and 
dogs  —  reckons  a  deal  more  than  any  other  individual. 
He  is  a  "leader"  in  his  tribe — Dog-Rib — in  so  far  as  be- 
ing the  head  of  a  hunting-party,  and  of  bringing  in  the 
largest  number  of  skins  to  the  company.  There  is  no 
other  kind  of  "leaders"  in  any  of  the  tribes — no  councils 
and  no  election  to  such  prominence  by  vote  or  heredity. 
Leader:. hip  is  a  survival  of  the  fittest,  and  he  who  gains 
the  distinction  earns  it. 

Beniah  is  much  respected  by  his  people,  and  is  alto- 
gether a  very  r^uperior  Indian  ;  short  in  stature,  probably 
five  feet  five  inches,  but  sturdy.  He  can  talk  longer  with- 
'^ut  exhausting  a  subject  than  any  man  I  ever  knew.  In 
our  subsequent  powwow  there  was  no  contingency  he  did 
not  foresee,  especially  if  it  was  to  operate  adversely  to 
him.  and  no  point  of  an  agreement  that  was  not  thor- 
oughly  threshed  out ;  in  fact,  he  showed  a  logical  mind 
that    sometimes    became    lost    in   metaphors,   but   pretty 


UENIAH'S  ARRIVAL 


165 


often  had  the  right  end  of  tiiO  solution  He  is  good-nat- 
ured, except  at  such  time  as  he  considers  his  dignity 
affronted  by  those  dependent  on  his  bounty,  and  some- 
what of  a  wag  too,  whose  most  mirth-provoking  sally  was 
a  repeated  and  crescendo  exclamation  of  "■  cdo"  (Dog-Rib 
for  hot)  when  it  was  bitterest  cold.  The  greatest  tribute 
I  can  pay  Beniah  is  to  say 
that  he  kept  his  word  with 
me,  and  that  is  so  rare  a 
virtue  among  these  Indians 
as  to  be  praise  enough. 
The  only  thing  I  treasure 
against  him  was  his  dis- 
tressing rendition  of  a  song 
which  had  few  words  and  a 
tune  that  wailed  for  longer 
and  shorter  periods  of  time 
over  three  treble  notes.  1 
could  never  decide  whether 
it  was  a  song  of  joy  or  lam- 
entation, as  he  set  it  going 
on  all  occasions  before  we 
reached  the  Barrens ;  and 
then  he  subsided,  for  there 
no  opportunity  of  rejoic- 
ing offered,  and  no  chant, 

be  it  never  so  dolorous,  could  have  expressed  the  depth 
of  our  misery. 

There  was  much  mental  measuring  of  one  another,  of 
drinking  tea,  and  smoking  on  the  day  after  lieniah's  ar- 
rival at  Resolution,  but  we  did  not  come  to  the  business 
of  my  venture  until  the  evening.  Then  we  all  gathered 
in  Gaudet's  room  and  smoked  some  more,  and  talked  for 
a  long  time   about  everything   else,  as   is  usual  at  these 


IlKMAH 
From  a  Pliotogmph  by  tlie  author 


i66      ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO   THE    BARREN   GROUNDS 


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Vm; 


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i'l 


powwows,  except  of  the  one  thing  in  which  we  were  both 
most  interested. 

Finally  the  interpreter  told  Beniah  I  wanted  him  to  go 
with  me  to  the  Barren  Grounds,  and  did  not  wish  to  wait 
until  the  usual  time  of  hunting ;  and  Beniah  forthwith 
delivered  himself  of  quite  a  speech,  in  which  he  said  he 
was  glad  to  welcome  the  first  white  man  to  his  hunting 
country%  especially  one  whom  he  heard  was  a  "  great 
chief";  recited  the  danger  of  the  Barren  Grounds;  the 
impossibility  of  getting  Indians  to  make  the  attempt  at 
such  a  season,  even  if  he  were  willing;  explained  the  ab- 
sence of  firewood,  the  chances  of  freezing  or  starving  to 
death,  and,  in  fact,  told  off  the  difficulties  to  a  length  for 
which  I  have  no  space. 

Now,  I  had  sized  up  the  situation  long  before  Beniah 
arrived  at  the  post,  and  I  had  purposely  delayed  this 
meeting  until  I  had  looked  him  over  a  bit  in  the  day, 
during  the  smoking  and  tea-drinking.  My  knowledge  of 
the  Indian  character  in  general,  and  of  this  one  in  partic- 
ular, had  decided  me  upon  a  course  of  diplomacy  to  induce 
him  to  go  with  me,  and  I  knew  if  I  secured  him  that  he 
would  insist  upon  his  hunters  going,  if  only  that  misery 
likes  company.  I  was  determined  to  get  into  the  Barren 
Grounds,  no  matter  what  its  terrors. 

Therefore  when  I  replied  to  Beniah — I  treated  all  the 
dangers  as  a  matter  of  course — I  told  him  I  had  come  to 
him  because  his  skill  and  courage  were  household  words 
in  the  great  world  ;  that  my  one  ambition  had  been,  if  I 
reached  the  North,,  to  hunt  musk-oxen  with  Beniah  ;  that 
I  had  been  travelling  from  my  lodge,  which  was  far,  far 
away,  by  the  "  big  water,"  for  many  suns,  and  that  now, 
being  here,  I  was  sure  so  insignificant  a  matter  as  hunger 
or  cold  would  not  deter  him  from  accompanying  me.  I 
made  Beniah  feel  that  my  belief  in  his  courage  was  un- 


4 


BEMAirs   ARRIVAL 


167 


f 


bounded.  I  told  him  I  knew  the  other  "  leaders  "  would 
of  course  shrink  from  exposure,  but  they  were  as  "  chil- 
dren "  to  him.  I  made  him  understand  that  I  had  no 
doubt  of  his  willingness  to  go  with  me;  that  it  was 
merely  a  question  of  beavcr-skins  between  us,  and  I  was 
prepared  to  pay  him  liberally.  I  placed  him  in  such  a 
position  that  by  refusing  to  go  with  me  he  tacitly  ac- 
knowledged that  he  was  afraid,  that  he  was  no  greater 
than  the  other  leaders  to  whom  I  had  referred  as  children 
when  compared  with  him. 

The  result  was  that  before  the  meeting  closed  it  was 
midnight,  but  Beniah  had  promised  me  to  go,  provided 
he  could  make  up  his  party,  and  we  were  to  start  next 
day  for  his  lodge,  which  was  in  the  woods  about  three 
days  east  of  Fort  Rae,  and  six  days'  travel  north  from 
Resolution. 

The  little  post  of  Resolution  was  shaken  to  its  founda- 
tion next  day  when  it  learned  that  we  really  intended  start- 
ing, and  there  was  a  great  shaking  of  heads,  and  many 
direful  prophecies  told  for  our  benefit.  But  I  felt  sure 
Beniah  would  not  turn  tail,  since  he  had  given  me  his 
word  ;  and  as  for  myself,  I  had  been  having  nothing  but 
discouragement  since  first  I  set  out. 

At  noon  my  sledge  was  dragged  into  the  post,  and 
packed  with  my  outfit,  which  consisted  of  a  winter  cari- 
bou-skin robe,  lined  with  a  pair  of  4-point  H.B.C.  blankets, 
and  made  into  a  bag  (which  I  subsequently  ripped  open  ; 
the  popular  supposition  that  a  bag  is  best  is  faulty;  you 
can  sleep  much  warmer  in  the  unsewn  robes,  because  you 
can  roll  them  about  you  more  snugly),  one  heavy  caribou- 
skin  capote,  one  cloth  capote,  one  sweater,  two  pairs  of 
mittens,  one  pair  moose-skin  gloves,  one  pair  leggings, 
three  silk  handkerchiefs,  eight  pair  moccasins,  eight  pair 
dufifel  socks,  one  copper  kettle,  one  cup,  my  rifle  and  hunt- 


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1 68      ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO   THE   BARREN    GROUNDS 

ing-knifc,  compass,  camera,  thermometer,  ten  pounds  of 
tea,  twelve  pounds  of  tobacco,  ten  pounds  of  flour,  and 
ten  balls  of  pemmican  (provisions  1  intended  to  cache  at 
the  last  wood,  where,  if  we  succeeded  in  getting  back,  I 
knew  we  should  arrive  in  starving  condition),  two  bottles 
of  my  old  friend  mustang  liniment,  a  pint  of  brandy  I  had 
carried  from  Hamilton,  and  the  antiseptic  lozenges  and 
bandages,  and  iodoform,  in  case  it  became  necessary  to 
play  surgeon  for  one  of  the  part^  or  myself. 


M\ 


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XV 


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TO   THE   TIMBER'S   EDGE 

We  were  ready  to  start  at  three,  and  I  was  waiting  for 
my  dog-driver  and  interpreter  when  word  came  that  he 
had  backed  out,  and  Gaudet  renewed  his  efforts  to  dis- 
suade me  from  the  trip.  But  I  had  not  come  thus  far  to 
be  daunted  by  so  inconsiderable  a  thing  as  deprivation  of 
speech  or  driving  my  own  dogs,  and  I  motioned  Keniah 
to  move  on.  And  now  there  was  a  hand-shaking  that 
seemed  to  have  no  ending,  for  every  one  pressed  upon  me 
closely,  and  grasped  my  hand  solemnly  and  in  silence.  It 
was  rather  a  funereal  leave-taking. 

There  is  a  little  portage  of  about  a  mile  that  leads  out 
from  Resolution  to  the  west  on  to  Great  Slave  Lake,  and 
Gaudet  ran  along  with  me  over  this ;  and  as  he  ran,  told 
me  the  names  of  the  dogs:  Foro  (the  foregoer),  Finnette, 
Flossie,  and  Blucher  (the  steer  dog).  And  then  we 
came  to  the  lake,  and  halted  for  a  last  good-bye.  Kind- 
hearted  Gaudet  seemed  much  depressed  ;  and  as  for  me— 
well,  at  any  rate,  I  was  started,  and  if  fate  ruled  that  I 
never  come  back,  my  place  would  be  filled,  and  the  world 
roll  on  as  usual ;  so  with  a  heart  for  any  fate,  I  called  out 
''M-a-archcr  to  Foro,  and  the  journey  to  the  Barrens  was 
begun  in  earnest. 

I  had  no  time  for  meditation,  for  my  work  was  cut  out 
from  the  start.  Beniah  and  his  Indian  were  riding  in  cari- 
olcs.  and  swinging  along  at  a  clipping  gait;  and^ though 


170 


ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO   THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 


I  -It  i 


my  load  was  light,  and  my  dogs  better  than  theirs,  I  did 
not  ride,  because  I  wished  to  save  them  as  much  as  pos- 
sible. So  Beniah  spe^  on  ahead,  and  I  followed  on  be- 
hind, going  easily,  for  my  training  had  made  me  very  fit. 
And  I  had  learned  enough,  too,  to  keep  on  my  snow- 
shoes,  though  the  lake  would  have  permitted  going  with- 
out. Running  on  ice  without  snow-shoes  has  the  same 
effect  on  leg  muscles  as  an  unyielding  armory  floor  after 
a  cinder-track. 

After  four  hours  we  came  that  night  to  Stony  Island, 
twenty-two  miles  from  Resolution,  where  we  camped,  and 
whose  only  interest  for  me  lay  in  the  fact  that  here,  sev- 
enty-five years  before,  Sir  John  Franklin  had  breakfasted 
on  the  trip  which  closed  so  disastrously  for  his  party. 
We  slept  in  a  tiny  cabin  with  thirteen  others,  men,  wom- 
en, and  children,  and  I  appreciated  for  the  first  time  in 
what  filth  human  beings  will  wallow. 

Next  morning  several  Indians  joined  us,  and  we  put  in 
a  long,  hard  day  on  the  lake,  out  of  sight  of  the  shore 
most  of  the  time,  I  running,  and  all  the  Indians  in  carioles. 
About  4.30  we  came  to  a  point  where  the  Indians  hauling 
meat  to  Resolution  had  made  a  cache,  and  here  we  halted, 
and  a  fire  was  lighted.  I  shall  never  forget  my  attempts 
to  learn  how  much  farther  on  we  were  going  that  night. 
I  can  now  see  myself  sitting  on  the  rocks,  setting  up  min- 
iature lodges  in  the  snow  with  little  twigs,  and  using  my 
few  Dog-Rib  words,  con  (fire),  ct/iar  (far),  supplemented 
with  numerous  gestures,  to  ascertain  if  the  lodge  fire  was 
to  be  far  away.  My  efforts  created  much  amusement, 
but  drew  no  information,  and  I  realized  how  very  much 
alone  I  was  indeed.  Nor  shall  I  forget  my  amazement 
and  my  relief  at  seeing  another  fire  lighted  not  twenty 
yards  from  the  first,  where  we  had  eaten,  and  camp  made 
for  the  night. 


TO   THE    TIMIJER'S    EDCIE 


171 


If  there  is  one  thing  these  Indians  know  how  to  do  it 
is  to  build  a  roaring  fire  where  wood  is  plentiful;  first  of 
all,  pine  brush  is  cut  down  and  laid  about  three  feet  high 
in  a  semicircle,  on  top  of  which  the  sledges  are  lifted  to 
keep  them  from  the  voracious  dogs.  The  opening  of  the 
semicircle  is  piled  high  with  wood,  and  when  lighted 
throws  out  warmth  enough  to  keep  you  comfortable  so 
long  as  it  lasts,  even  with  the  mercury  at  its  lowest. 

About  noon  the  next  day  we  left  the  lake,  striking 
north,  and  for  three  days,  starting  at  six  and  going  until 
eight  and  nine  at  night,  we  travelled  across  a  rough  coun- 
try, broken  up  I  ridges  and  filled  with  lakes— most  of 
the  ridges  bare  of  all  timber,  and  what  trees  there  were, 
very  insignificant.  All  this  time  I  had  been  running  and 
the  Indians  riding,  and  I  was  well  pleased  when  on  the 
night  of  the  third  day  we  reached  Heniah's  camp,  which 
proved  to  be  quite  the  biggest  settlement  I  had  seen,  for 
these  Indians  roam  about  in  small  parties  of  one  or  two 
lodges.  Only  a  few  consequential  leaders  like  Beniah 
have  a  fixed  habitation,  and  then  it  is  only  used  in  sum- 
mer, when  the  fishing  is  going  forward. 

Here,  while  Beniah  was  explaining  my  mission  and 
making  up  his  party,  I  put  in  three  very  uncomfortable 
days.  To  say  that  I  was  an  object  of  curiosity  would  be 
putting  it  mildly;  I  was  indeed  a  stranger  in  a  strange 
land.  The  men  examined  over  ind  again  every  article 
I  possessed ;  the  women  stared  me  out  of  countenance ; 
the  mothers  used  me  as  a  bugaboo  to  hush  their  cryiu"- 
babies;  and  the  dogs  crowded  about  me  so  threateningly 
that  I  never  ventured  outside  the  lodge  without  my  whip. 
I  was  the  first  white  man  they  had  seen,  and  one  and  all 
made  the  most  of  their  opportunity.  I  was  on  exhibition 
with  a  vengeance,  only,  unlike  other  freaks,  I  had  no 
hours  ;  the  show  opened  when  I  arose   in  the  mornin"- 


i<\ 


111  ■  ' 

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J'    ' 


•'•■1  ■HI; 


172       ON   SNOW-SIIOKS   TO   THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 

and  was  still  on  when  I  rolled  up  in  my  blankets  at  night. 
And  I,  on  my  part,  made  most  careful  scrutiny  of  the 
curious  surroundings  in  which  I  found  myself.  We  were 
camped  on  top  of  a  ridge  covered  with  small  pines,  where 
Heniah  had  pitched  his  tepee  to  catch  the  caribou  that 
were  just  beginning  to  work  out  to  the  edge  of  the 
woods.  There  were  three  lodges,  all  full,  and,  so  long  as 
I  remained,  the  occupants  of  the  other  two  spent  the 
greater  part  of  their  time  in  Beniah's. 

There  were  actually  fifteen  sleeping  in  our  little  lodge ; 
who  they  all  were,  and  what  their  relations,  I  never  could 
thoroughly  satisfy  myself.  I  picked  out  Ikniah's  wife  (far 
and  away  the  best-looking  squaw  I  saw  in  the  country) 
from  the  way  she  served  him  ;  and  another,  wife  of  We- 
cindar.  But  the  third  woman  in  the  lodge  I  could  never 
place;  she  seemed  every  one's  servant  and  nobody's  wife 
in  particular.  I  never  could  make  out  who  provided  for 
her;  in  fact,  that  same  query  puzzled  me  many  times  and 
of  many  Indians.  There  were  always  one  or  two  who 
seemed  never  to  have  any  teakettle  or  meat  of  their  own, 
and  lived  entirely  on  the  bounty  of  others.  And  how 
that  bounty  was  given  ! — thrown  at  them  as  though  they 
were  dogs  ;  for  though  the  Indian  is  generous  with  his 
meat,  he  appears  to  hold  in  contempt  those  who  do  not 
at  least  occasionally  have  some  of  their  very  own. 

Here  in  our  lodge,  for  instance,  three  kettles  of  tea  were 
boiled  —  mine,  which  Beniah  shared;  a  second,  that  of 
Wecindar's ;  and  a  third  shared  bj'  four  or  five  men  to- 
gether. What  was  left  of  mine  went  to  Beniah's  wife  and 
boy  (for  the  women,  as  a  rule,  eat  after  the  men),  but 
what  the  others  got  I  declare  I  never  could  see.  Now 
and  then  I  discovered  them  with  a  bone,  but  never  regu- 
larly served  at  the  usual  time  of  eating. 

Indeed,  there  is  no  usual  time  of  eating  with  the  Ind- 


tn 

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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


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110    i|2.0 


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► 

% 


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Hiotographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


33  WIST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14S80 

(716)  873-4503 


M/.A 


ir^ 


TO  THE   TIMBER'S    EDGE 


«7S 


ians ;  so  long  as  there  is  any  meat  they  eat  half  a  dozen 
times  a  day,  and  on  the  slightest  provocation,  such  as  the 
entrance  of  a  visitor  or  the  return  of  some  one  from  a 
hunt.  And  1  never  beheld  the  equal  of  their  capacity.  I 
saw  one  lodge  eat  an  entire  caribou  at  a  sitting — head, 
hoofs  (with  outside  horn  covering  removed),  entrails,  stom- 
ach, heart,  liver,  lungs,  parts  of  generation,  marrow,  every- 
thing but  the  hide  and  bones.  The  head  is  quite  a  deli- 
cacy, and  is  always  reserved  for  the  successful  hunter. 
Caribou  tongue  is  really  rich,  and  many  is  the  meal  I  made 
on  the  eyes  and  ears,  which  are  very  good — at  least,  they 
seemed  so  then. 

I  suppose  really  I  am  not  fitted  to  pass  an  opinion  on 
these  Northland  dainties,  because  at  the  time  I  ate  them 
anything  filling  would  have  seemed  delicious.  Some  of 
the  intestines  when  boiled,  the  large  one  particularly,  are 
fat  and  satisfying,  but,  even  though  starving,  I  detected  a 
marked  difference  when  they  were  eaten  raw  out  of  the 
c  iribou  or  musk-ox  stomach.  I  could  never  tolerate, 
probably  because  I  never  had  a  chance  at  it  when  really 
hungry,  one  of  their  greatest  delicacies — blood-pudding,  I 
call  it,  for  a  better  name.  This  was  made  by  taking  the 
stomach  of  the  caribou,  with  its  half-digested  contents, 
cut  up  the  liver  into  it,  adding  some  fat,  and  then  hanging 
the  whole  mess  over  the  fire.  By  the  way  they  fell  upon 
it,  it  must  be  very  toothsome.  There  was  never  a  period 
of  my  starvation  when  I  could  attempt  the  womb  of  the 
caribou,  which  the  Indians  devoured  raw,  and  without 
washing,  and  not  until  I  had  gone  three  days  without  put- 
ting anything  into  my  stomach  but  tea  could  I  eat  the 
unborn  calf.  I  have  no  doubt  some  of  my  readers  will  be 
disgusted  by  this  recital ;  and  as  I  sit  here  at  my  desk 
writing,  with  but  to  reach  out  and  push  a  button  for  din- 
ner, luncheon — what  I  will — I  can  hardly  realize  that  only 


<  <t. 


176       ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO   THP:   BARREN    GROUNDS 

a  few  months  ago  I  choked  an  Indian  until  he  gave  up  a 
piece  of  musk-ox  intestine  he  had  stolen  from  me.  One 
must  starve  to  know  what  one  will  eat. 

In  times  of  prosperity  these  Indian  tepees  are  by  no 
means  unsightly.  They  are  of  caribou -skin  stretched 
around  and  to  within  about  three  feet  of  the  top  of  poles, 
which  numbet  according  to  the  size  of  the  lodge.  The  sides 
of  the  circle  are  banked  up  with  snow  and  pine  brush,  and, 
inside,  the  smallest  brush  makes  a  clean-looking  and  pleas- 
antly smelling  floor.  The  open  fire  occupies  the  centre; 
and  above  it,  stretched  from  side  to  side  of  the  lodge,  are 
poles  upon  which  the  meat  is  placed  to  thaw,  and  from 
which  the  kettles  are  suspended. 

Around  this  fire  the  men  and  women  sit,  cross-legged, 
all  day,  jabbering  incessantly  in  their  guttural  speech  that 
is  impossible  to  describe  in  writing,  and  at  night  they  roll 
up  in  their  blankets  and  stretch  out  with  their  feet  at  the 
very  fire's  edge.  I  used  to  wonder  what  on  earth  they 
found  to  talk  about,  for  the  clatter  never  came  to  a  full 
stop,  and  when  I  lay  down  at  times,  trying  in  slumber  to 
escape  the  din,  it  seemed  as  though  it  must  all  be  a  hide- 
ous dream.  But  any  such  illusion  was  speedily  dispelled 
by  the  yelping  of  a  dog  that  had  worked  its  way  into  the 
lodge,  and  was  being  clubbed  until  it  worked  its  way  out 
again. 

Domestic  economics  are  a  dead  letter  in  the  Indian 
household.  There  is  no  place  for  any  particular  thing, 
and  nothing  is  ever  in  any  particular  place.  The  back 
part  of  the  lodge,  where  it  is  too  cold  to  sit  even  when 
the  fire  blazes  highest,  appears  to  be  the  general  store- 
room. Everything  not  in  immediate  use  is  thrown  there 
in  indiscriminate  confusion.  If  the  squaw  has  finished 
stripping  a  caribou  leg  of  its  meat,  she  tosses  the  bone 
over  her  shoulder  into  the  unknown  behind  her;  if  she 


TO   THE   TIMr.KR'S    EDV.K 


177 


hiis  completed  the  lacing  of  a  snow-shoe,  it  is  served  simi- 
larly;  the  Indian  hurls  his  knife  there  when  he  is  through 
with  it,  and  the  children  do  the  same  with  the  bones  or 
intestines  or  bits  of  meat  they  may  have  filched  from  the 
feasting,  in  which  they  never  share.  And  when  there  is  a 
demand  for  any  article  such  an  overhauling  ensues  as 
would  put  to  shame  a  May-day  house-cleaning. 

Children  are  not  much  in  evidence  in  the  Indian  house- 
hold.     They  rarely  cry,  for  experience  has  taught  them 
that  such  outward  expression  of  grief  or  alarm  or  hurt 
meets    with   much   personal   dis- 
comfort.   If  they  are  in  the  moss- 
bag  age,  which   usually   ends   at 
two,  they  arc  put  into  a  sort  of 
hammock  within  the   lodge  and 
rocked  at  a  terrifying  pace  to  the 
accompaniment  of  a  crooning  that 
would  strike  terror  to  the  heart 
of  any  crying  babe.     If  they  are 
old   enough   to   toddle,  they  are 
turned  out-of-doors  to  tell  their 
sorrows  to  the  winds. 

The  Indian  has  no  patience  for 
the  little  solicitudes  of  life,  nor 
for  its  frivolities.  His  amuse- 
ments are  few  and  simple.  Out- 
side of  a  something  that  resem- 
bles that  ancient  pastime  of"  but- 
ton, button  — who  has  the  but- 
ton ?"  and  where  the  penalty  is 
a  piece  of  tobacco,  there  are  no 
games  to  speak  of.  The  dancing 
is  exceedingly  awkward  and  crude — a  shuffling  about  in  a 

circle,  varied  by  hopping  up  and  down,  and  the  music  con- 
is 


DOG- WHIP 


ijS       ON    SNOW- SHOES   TO   THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 


fined  to  the  monotony  of  the  singlc-lieaclcd  drum,  or  may- 
hap an  occasional  fiddle  picked  up  at  the  post,  which  in 
that  case  squeaks  through  a  medley  of  reels.  Their  dear- 
est recreation  is  sleeping,  since  most  of  their  time  is  spent 
in  procuring  food,  and  the  balance  in  resting  from  the  toil 
required  to  obtain  it. 

The  day  after  my  arrival  Heniah  took  up  seriously  the 
question  of  getting  volunteers  for  the  musk-ox  hunt.  At 
least  I  judged  so  from  the  gathering  of  the  men  in  our 
lodge,  the  long  and  earnest  conference,  and  the  displeased 
looks  that  were  every  now  and  again  cast  my  way.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  I  knew  practically  nothing  of 
the  language,  and  was  dependent  on  signs.  My  Dog-Rib 
vocabulary  consisted  of  ciirrf  (stop),  ir/a  oiiicc  /  (what  is  it 
called  ?),  cthar  (far),  con  (fire),  ^•^'vj;  (hurry),  bet  (meat),  ooic 
(none),  ilia  (no),  vli  (yes),  too  (water),  ctlicn  (caribou),  cj'cri 
(musk-ox),  cilanr  (cold),  and  sla  (plenty) — words  that  Gau- 
det  told  me  at  the  last  minute,  when  my  interpreter 
backed  out,  and  which  I  wrote  down  phonetically  just  as 
I  was  starting.  I  picked  up  a  few  others  afterwards,  but 
had  really  always  to  rely  on  signs,  and  I  found  the  Ind- 
ians not  only  dull  of  comprehension,  although  they  ordi- 
narily learn  much  quicker  by  the  eye  than  by  the  ear,  but 
disinclined  to  understand  me.  They  seemed,  with  one  or 
two  exceptions,  to  wish  to  make  it  as  difficult  for  me  as 
possible. 

Judging  by  appearances,  lieniah  was  having  a  heated 
time  of  it  persuading  them  to  go  into  the  Barrens,  as  I 
supposed  he  would  have,  and  the  storm  that  had  blown 
up,  and  the  cold,  which  my  thermometer  registered  as  46° 
below,  did  not  tend  to  increase  their  liking  for  the  vent- 
ure. But  I  was  convinced  that  Beniah  would  bring  it 
about,  because  these  Indians  could  not  afford  to  deny 
him,  and  he  would  not,  could  not,  go  without  them. 


TO  THE    TIMBER'S   EDGE 


>79 


It  was  a  lugubrious  day  that,  for  no  meat  was  in  the 
lodge,  a  hunter  had  been  found  frozen  dead  at  his  traps, 
some  one  had  died  in  the  adjoining  lodge,  and  there  was 
mourning  in  the  air. 

My  first  intimation  of  the  death  was  most  dreadful  fem- 
inine wailing,  seconded  by  mournful  howling  of  the  dogs, 


THE  Indian's  tool-kii — axk,  ckuokku  knike  (home-madk),  and  file 


I- 
it 


6° 


which  all  together  made  such  distressing  bedlam  as  I  hope 
never  to  hear  again.  The  cofifin  was  a  rude  slab  bo.\  axe- 
hewn  from  the  pine,  bound  together  by  babiche,  and  sus- 
pended from  a  single  pole,  by  which  it  was  borne  as  a 
litter  on  the  shoulders  of  two  Indians,  one  in  front  and 
one  behind.  Following  were  some  half-dozen  women,  all 
chanting  a  most  direful  dirge;  and  as  the  little  procession 
disappeared  over  the  ridge  the  dogs  sat  on  their  haunches 
on  top  of  the  hill  and  whined  a  last  requiem  for  the  poor 
wretch,  who  would  nevermore  struggle  for  life  in  the  white 
desert. 

Next  day  I  knew  Beniah  had  succeeded  in  organizing  a 
party,  for  the  women  began  relacing  snow-shoes  and  mak- 
ing mittens,  and  the  men  set  to  work  shaving  down  pine 
poles  into  extra  runners  for  the  sledges.  The  Indian's 
tool-kit  consists  of  an  axe,  a  large  file,  and  a  "  crooked 


1' 


■ 


I    I 


1^1 


l8o      ox   SNOW-SHOES   TO  THE    IJAUREN   (JROUNDS 

knife,"  wliich  has  .1  blade  made  from  a  file,  a  bone  handle, 
and  in  jjencral  appearance  looks  somewhat  like  a  farrier's 
knife.  It  is  an  implement  of  general  utility,  carried  by 
all,  and  exceedingly  deft  in  the  hands  of  some.  The 
original  of  the  dog-whip  handle  illustrated,  and  really  a 
very  creditable  piece  of  carving,  was  made  with  just  such 
tools  by  William  T'lett,  a  Loucheux,  and  the  interpreter 
at  Fort  Smith.  When  they  go  after  musk-ox  they  add  a 
huge  weapon  with  a  blade  nine  inches  long  and  one-eighth 
of  an  inch  thick  (and  the  best-shaped  point  for  skinning 
I  ever  used),  which  becomes  at  once  hunting-knife  and 
Barren  Ground  axe — for  nothing  larger  for  chopping  is 
taken  or  required. 

As  the  men  toiled  away  at  the  pine  slabs,  shaving  off 
about  two  inches  for  a  length  of  seven  feet  with  their 
crooked  knives,  and  the  women  laced  snow-shoes,  I  won- 
dered if  I  had  ever  seen  people  do  more  work  and  accom- 
plish less.  If  there  is  a  roundabout  way,  these  Indians 
seek  it  out ;  a  straight  line  dcs  not  appeal  to  them  in  any 
form.  They  always  begin  at  the  wrong  end,  and  choose 
the  longest  way.  And  as  for  pitching  camp,  a  white  man 
of  any  experience  who  could  not  do  better  would  be  well 
laughed  at  by  his  hunting  companions.  Between  making 
up  their  mind  as  to  the  precise  piece  of  ground  on  which 
to  pitch  it,  and  getting  into  one  another's  way  while  do- 
ing so,  the  length  of  time  they  take  would  make  any  man 
of  roughing  experience  disgusted.  How  fervently  I  used 
to  wish  for  a  command  of  their  language  to  give  a  few 
instructions,  and,  incidentally,  my  opinion  of  them  indi- 
vidually and  collectively ! 

And  all  the  time  they  keep  up  an  incessant  jabber,  or 
stop  work  entirely  in  the  heat  of  discussion.  Between 
chattering  and,  in  the  lodge,  catching  vermin,  with  which 
the  women  and  children  especially  are  literally  alive,  the 


TO   THK   TIMBER'S    KDGK 


s8i 


ill 


wonder  is  they  ever  accomplish  anything.  One  hand  is 
almost  invariably  kept  busy  seeking  those  Northland 
"  birds  of  prey  " ;  and  as  one  is  caught  it  is  conveyed  to 
the  teeth  and  cracked  and  subsequently  eaten.  It  may 
be  imagined  when  the  lodge  is  full  that,  what  with  the 
cracking  (which  is  distinctly  audible)  and  the  hunting,  the 
scene  is  enlivening.  Keeping  track  of  the  alternately  dis- 
appearing hands  and  determining  the  cause  of  the  crack- 
ing were  at  first  quite  e.xciting  occupation  for  me  during 
my  weary  days  in  the  lodge.  And  "  they  never  touched 
me  "  during  the  entire  trip,  for  which  I  thank  an  ointment 
I  carried,  and  that  I  shall  be  glad  to  tell  any  sportsman 
likely  to  visit  localities  where  vermin  rule  in  undisputed 
sway. 

How  gratified  I  was  when  on  the  third  day  we  finally 
left  the  women,  some  of  the  vermin,  and  the  lodges,  and 
started  on  our  way  to  the  Barren  Grounds,  I  shall  not  at- 
tempt to  say.  It  seemed  to  me  that  the  starving  and 
freezing  that  lay  before  were  little  less  to  be  dreaded 
than  the  filth  and  monotony  I  was  leaving  behind.  Not 
that  I  left  all  the  filth  or  vermin  behind,  for  my  seven 
Indians  took  along  a  generous  share,  but,  at  any  rate,  I 
was  out  in  the  open,  instead  of  being  sandwiched  between 
women  and  children  that  made  mc  crawl  only  to  look  at 
them. 

There  was  a  very  solemn  leave-taking  on  the  day  we 
left  Beniah's  lodge,  and  I  was  as  much  in  the  dark  as  to 
the  relationship  between  the  men  and  women  as  on  the 
first  day  of  my  arrival.  Every  man  embraced  and  kissed 
ever}'  woman,  the  men  shook  hands,  and  the  children  sat 
down  in  the  snow  and  stared,  and  as  we  moved  off  the 
dogs  left  behind  sent  up  their  wolfish  chorus. 

Ye  gods !  it  was  a  relief  to  be  started ! 

Beniah  and  I  had  held  a  sign-talk  that  morning,  and  I 


,  f 


i\ 


182     ON  Snow-shoes  to  tiik  hakken  grounds 

made  out  that  there  was  no  meat  in  the  lodge,  which  was 
no  news,  as  we  had  eaten  but  tea  and  grease  for  two 
days ;  that  in  one  "  sleep  " — /.<•.,  by  to-morrow  morning — 
we  should  be  where  there  were  caribou  ;  stop  there  one 
sleep,  and  then  go  on  for  ij'cri ;  meanwhile  his  r(^//(fire) — 
/.f'.,  house— would  be  moved  to  the  /t^tW/t;  (big  water) — i.e.. 
Great  Slave  Lake — because  here  where  wc  were  it  was 
bct-ooh' {uo  meat).  I  understood  from  this  that  his  wife 
would  go  to  the  lakes,  around  which  the  Indians  always 
settle  when  the  caribou  fail,  and  where  she  would  await 
our  return,  subsisting  on  what  fish  could  be  caught  under 
the  ice  or  what  rabbits  might  be  snared  in  the  woods. 

The  one  "  sleep  "  did  not  bring  us  up  to  the  caribou, 
but  it  took  us  north  to  the  lodge  of  another  Indian  who 
had  been  more  fortunate  than  we.  Here  for  one  day  we 
feasted  and  the  Indians  slept,  and  when  we  started  on 


CUTTING   LODGK-POI.ES   ON   THE   EDGE  OF   THE  TIMUER 
From  a  Photograph  by  t)ie  author 


TO   Till-;   TIMHKRS    KDGK 


'«3 


again  the  next  morning  Ikniah  signed  me  that  we  were 
now  off  for  musk-ox.  Another  clay  of  travel  in  a  fearful 
wind  and  the  mercury  at  47"  below,  over  rocky  ridges  and 
tlirough  pine  that  was  growing  smaller  and  more  scat- 
tering  as  we  advanced,  and  at  night  we  camped  on  the 
shore  of  King  Lake. 

The  next  morning  we  lingered  for  a  couple  of  hours 
while  the  Indians  cut  and  trimmed  lodge-poles  we  must 
carry  with  us.  And  as  I  climbed  to  the  top  of  a  rocky 
ridge,  and  viewed  the  desert  of  treeless  snow  extending 
far  into  the  horizon  before  me.  I  knew  we  had  come  to 
the  edge  of  timber,  and  that  the  Harren  Grounds,  in 
all  their  desolation,  lay  before  me.  And  I  thought,  as  I 
stood  and  gazed  into  the  cheerless  waste,  that  if  death 
marked  my  venture  it  would  not  be  a  hard  country  to 
leave. 


XVI 


IN  THE  "LAND  OF   IJTTI-K  STICKS" 

W'l",  left  all  hopes  of  a  wanning  fire  on  the  south  side 
of  King  Lake  when  we  lashed  the  newly  cut  lodge-poles 
to  our  sledges  and  took  up  our  northward  way  through 
the  outlying  relics  of  timber-land,  which  the  Indians 
aptly  call  the  "  Land  of  Little  Sticks."  There  is  no 
abrupt  ending  of  the  timber-line.  For  a  day  or  two  be- 
fore reaching  King  Lake  the  trees  arc  growing  smaller 
and  more  scarce ;  as  you  draw  nearer  they  stretch  away 
like  irregular  lines  of  skirmishers  deployed  along  the  fron- 
tier to  intercept  further  encroachment  on  the  liarren 
Grounds. 

And  now  you  pass  beyond  these  sentries  and  travel 
along  a  ridge  which  makes  out  into  the  white  desert — a 
long,  wooded  peninsula — or  mayhap  you  cross  a  lake  to 
find  a  wooded  island  on  the  other  side.  Gradually — im- 
perceptibly almost — the  peninsulas  grow  shorter  and  the 
islands  smaller,  until  finally  you  stand  on  the  shore  of 
King  Lake  and  look  north  into  desolation. 

Probably  the  roughest  country  in  all  the  Northland  is 
that  going  down  to  the  Barrens.  Nature  appears  to  have 
made  an  efifort  to  stay  the  footsteps  of  the  wanderer  while 
yet  there  is  opportunity  to  turn  from  the  trials  that  await 
him  beyond.  Isolated  hills,  sharp  little  ridges,  and  narrow, 
shallow  valleys,  running  hither  and  thither,  all  rock-cov- 
ered, and  every  now  and  again  a  lake,  go  to  make  up  a 


MAI-   SIIOWINC;    THE   AUIIIOR's   ROUTE   THROUGH    THE  BARREN    GROUNDS 

(See  Note  on  page  1S7) 


i86        OX    SNOW-SHOKS    lO   THE    HARKEX   CJROUNDS 


ll 


rugged  and  confused  whole.  One  can  well  imagine  sonie 
Titan  ploughman  had  cross-sectioned  the  land  into  huge 
ridge  and  furrow,  stopping  here  and  there  to  raise  a  mound, 
and  sowing  all  with  rocks  of  every  shape  and  size  which 
your  fancy  pictures  into  all  kinds  of  animals.  It  looks  for- 
bidding, and  it  is  a  great  deal  more  so  than  it  appears. 

'Twas  over  such  going  I  had  my  first  real  experience  in 
dog-driving,  for  up  till  now  there  had  been  only  the  usual 
handling  of  the  sledge,  and  therein  lie  all  the  difficulties 
of  the  art.  If  you  can  imagine  a  canoe  pitching  in  short, 
choppy  waves,  you  will  gain  some  idea  of  the  action  of  a 
lightly  loaded  sledge  being  dragged  over  this  ridge  and 
furrow  and  rock.  Without  guidance  the  sledge  would 
soon  pound  itself  to  pieces,  so  you  humor  and  coax  it 
through  the  furrows,  ease  it  around  or  lift  it  over  the 
rocks,  pull  with  the  dogs  in  climbing  the  ridge,  and  pull 
against  them  in  going  down.  And  all  the  time,  because  of 
your  enforced  running  alongside  the  head  of  the  sledge,  in 
order  to  handle  it  by  the  "  tail-line,"  you  are  tripping  over 
rocks  you  cannot  see,  being  jammed  in  between  others 
you  cannot  escape,  or  blocking  the  progress  of  the  sledge 
with  an  arm  or  a  leg,  or,  often  as  not,  with  your  head. 

The  Indians  left  me  to  work  out  my  own  salvation,  and 
my  dogs  added  difficulties  to  those  nature  had  already 
liberally  provided.  The  most  exciting,  and  withal  dis- 
comforting, moments  I  had  were  in  going  downhill. 
Whether  in  contempt  for  my  inexperience,  or  misunder- 
standing my  commands,  whenever  v/e  began  a  descent  and 
I  called  "W-h-o-a!"  Foro,  the  foregoer,  invariably  broke 
into  a  run,  starting  up  the  other  dogs,  and  dragging  me 
after  them,  hanging  to  the  tail-line,  which  I  did  not  drop, 
because  I  thought  it  just  as  well  the  dogs  should  learn 
early  in  the  game  that  they  could  not  "  shake  "  me.  And 
so  sometimes  I  went  downhill  head-first,  at  other  times 


IN    Till-;   LAND   OF    Lli  TLli   STICKS 


.87 


feet-first ;  but  the  speed  of  the  dogs  never  lessened  until 
the  bottom  had  been  reached,  except  when  I  brought  up 
against  a  rock,  stopping  them  short,  and  nearly  dislocating 
*my  arms  thereby. 

Hy-and-by  I  grew  skMlful  enough  to  stay  on  my  feet  once 
in  a  while,  and  on  such  occasions  a  rush  after  the  dogs  at 
top  speed  would  take  me  up  to  the  foregoer  about  half- 
way down  the  hill,  where  I  fell  on  him  as  though  he  were 
a  football  rolling  back  of  the  line  from  a  blocked  kick  and 
1  was  after  a  touch-down.  And  then  we  were  rather  a 
mixed-up  lot,  I  and  the  dogs  and  the  sledge — until  1  had 
given  Foro  a  few  samples  of  my  English  pronunciation. 

Poor  old  Foro  I  how  miserable  he  made  my  life  for  a 
while !  After  I  had  dropped  on  him  half  a  do7,en  times 
in  the  middle  of  a  wild  gallop  downhill  he  began  to  un- 
derstand my  "  W-h-o-a  !"  and  then  we  got  on  better. 

And  what  a  lesson,  too,  in  snow-shoeing  was  this  dog- 
driving!  It  was  reasonable,  I  suppose,  for  me  to  believe 
myself  somewhat  skilled  on  snow-shoes  by  the  time  I  had 
reached  Great  Slave  Lake.  But  when  I  started  from 
Beniah's  lodge  I  discovered  there  was  much  to  learn.  No 
man  may  consider  himself  an  expert  until  he  has  driven 
dogs  and  handled  a  sledge  over  such  country  as  that  ap- 
proaching the  Land  of  Little  Sticks — even  the  heart-break- 
ing and  shoe-tripping  muskeg  is  not  a  circumstance  to  it. 


15y  referring  to  the  nia|)  nf  the  liarren  (Irounds  on  )i!ige  185,  the  reader 
will  tiiul  the  routes  of  those  explorers  who  have  penetrated  into  tlie  liarren 
(Irounds.  Uoth  I'ike  and  Munn  reached  Great  Slave  Lake  by  Hudson's 
IJay  Company  steamer  and  by  canoe  from  Athabasca  Landing. 

Frank  Russel,  the  other  white  man  who  has  succeeded  in  getting  into  the 
Barrens,  started  from  Fort  Kae,  which  he  reached  l)y  Hudson's  Hay  Company 
steamer.  .Mr.  Russel's  route  would  be  given  were  it  known  to  me.  As  near 
as  I  could  learn  at  (Ireat  Slave  Lake,  Mr.  Ku.ssell  took  a  course  north  of  east 
from  F'ort  Kae,  which  he  held  for  from  six  to  eight  days  before  turning  back. 

Within  the  borders  of  the  Land  of  Little  Sticks  the 


I 


i; 


188      ON    SNOW-SHOES   TO  THE    BARREN    GROUNDS 

general  character  of  the  country  becomes  more  rolling. 
The  rocks  are  always  in  evidence,  but  the  furrows  have 
broadened  to  valleys,  and  the  ridges  lost  their  sharpness 
and  gained  in  height.  Still,  the  little  sharp  ridges  and 
furrows  never  disappear  entirely.  One  day  you  may  see 
them  only  here  and  there  ;  on  another  probably  every  ele- 
vation will  reveal  them.  To  a  larger  or  smaller  extent 
they  are  scattered  through  all  that  part  of  the  Barrens  I 
travelled  over,  and  are  the  most  likely  musk-ox  grounds, 
because  of  the  mosi  and  lichens  that  cling  to  the  rocks, 
and  are  the  easier  gathered.  The  "  little  sticks"  are  pine 
or  juniper,  from  three  to  eight  feet  high,  that  in  small 
patches  are  scattered  —  I  do  not  know  how  many  miles 
apart,  but  I  can  give  an  idea  by  saying  that  during  the 
day  of  thirty-five  to  forty  miles'  travel  on  the  course  we 
pursued  we  came  upon  probably  a  couple  of  these  clumps 
each  day  of  the  two  and  a  half  we  spent  crossing  the  Land 
of  Little  Sticks.  Each  night  we  camped  where  the  bushes 
grew  into  smallish  trees,  and  covered  probably  half  an  acre. 
But  between  these  patches  nothing  inflammable  showed 
above  the  snow — not  even  a  twig. 

As  we  worked  our  way  due  north,  travelling  by  the  sun 


k^miitwM^h'^.li,,\ 


A    PIPE   IN   TItF.   LAND   OK   I.ITTI.E   STICKS 
From  a  Pliotugraph  by  the  author 


IN  THE    LAND  OF   LITTLE    STICKS 


189 


when  it  shone,  as  Indians  always  do,  and  by  my  compass 
when  it  stormed,  as  it  mostly  did,  we  climbed  to  the  top 
of  the  highest  elevations  that  lay  in  our  course  or  near  it, 
and  while  we  smoked  a  pipe,  viewed  the  forlorn  panorama 
which,  when  the  storm  permitted,  unrolled  before  us  so 
repeatedly  and  monotonously.  There  it  was,  always  the 
same,  unchangeable  and  unchanged — glittering  snow, 
ridge-encircled  lakes,  rocky  mounds  and  basins,  and  far 
away  in  the  distance  a  small  black  speck,  perhaps  a  wood 
oasis  in  the  desert  of  snow. 

From  the  hour  of  leaving  our  lucky  friend  in  the  woods, 
two  days  before,  we  had  eaten  no  meat.  We  had  kept  a 
sharp  though  unsuccessful  lookout  for  caribou.  Hcniah 
had  produced  some  grease  from  a  little  bag  he  carried, 
and  another  Indian  had  found  a  piece  of  frozen  caribou 
intestine  in  the  depths  of  his  sledge,  and  these,  with  a  few 
hitherto  undiscovered  bones,  remains  of  dog-feed,  stayed 
our  eight  stomachs  for  the  first  day's  travel  in  the  Land 
of  Little  Sticks.  We  had  taken  along  no  supply  of  dried 
meat  or  grease,  because  caribou  signs  at  the  edge  of  timber 
convinced  the  Indians  that  the  cows  had  begun  their  mi- 
gration to  the  North,  and  we  should  be  able  to  kill  enough 
for  the  dogs  and  ourselves.  But  all  signs  fail  in  the  Bar- 
ren Grounds.  The  caribou  may  have  been  moving,  but 
they  were  not  moving  our  way. 

Throughout  that  second  day  scouts  were  sent  to  the 
east  and  west  searching  for  caribou,  and  on  top  of  every 
hill  in  our  path  we  halted  and  hungrily  scanned  the  un- 
compromising wilderness  for  a  sight  of  meat. 

The  usual  chatter  of  the  Indians  had  ceased.  In  si- 
lence, and  against  a  strong  head-wind,  we  plodded  all  day 
long,  and  when  in  the  gloaming  we  set  up  our  lodge  in 
one  of  the  little  patches  of  pine,  there  was  nothing  left  us 
for  the  evening  meal  but  tea  and  a  pipe. 


igo      ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO  THE    BARREN   GROUNDS 


»ii 


As  we  squatted  around  the  fire  awaiting  the  melting 
of  the  snow  in  the  teakettle,  the  Indians  appeared  to  be 
holding  a  consultation,  and  shortly  one  of  them  left  the 
circle  and  went  to  my  sledge.  So  soon  as  he  began  un- 
lacing the  wrapper  I  had  a  fairly  clear  idea  of  what  he  was 
after,  and  as  quickly  realized  that  I  was  in  for  a  "  scrap." 
I  watched  the  Indian,  however,  without  dissent,  and  all 
the  other  Indians  watched  me,  until  he  had  uncovered 
and  begun  opening  the  bag  in  which  were  the  dozen  balls 
of  pemmican  I  had  brought  from  Fort  Resolution.  And 
then  I  said,  " lila"  (no).  The  Indian  hesitated  in  his  for- 
aging, and  looked  first  at  me,  probably  to  discover  if  I 
wa«  serious,  and  then  to  the  others — for  encouragement,  I 
suppose.  Evidently  '..e  got  it ;  at  least,  there  was  a  chorus 
of  gutturals,  and  he  set  to  work  at  the  bag  again.  And 
now  I  rose  on  my  knees  and  called  him  by  name — Seeyah 
— and  when  he  paused  and  looked  at  me,  I  added,  rather 
louder  and  more  earnestly,  "  Ilia,  ilia."  That  would  have 
been  the  end  of  the  piratical  episode,  I  think,  had  Seeyah 
been  the  captain  of  the  crew ;  but  while  he  stood  unde- 
cided, with  his  hand  in  the  bag,  the  others  maintained  an 
animated  council  of  war,  in  whose  utterances  I  seemed  to 
recognize  appeals  of  urgency  to  him  and  of  defiance  to 
me,  and  so  Seeyah  renewed  the  attack. 

I  perfectly  realized  the  unpleasantness  of  my  position, 
but  I  felt  the  situation  bore  most  importantly  on  the  re- 
lations between  the  Indians  and  me  for  the  balance  of  the 
trip.  It  was  a  crisis  I  would  have  cheerfully  averted,  but 
being  thrust  upon  me,  I  believed  the  success  of  my  vent- 
ure, to  say  nothing  of  my  peace  of  mind,  depended  on 
how  I  survived  it.  It  was  not  only  that  the  Indians 
should  at  this  period  of  their  hunger  consume  those  few 
balls  of  pemmican,  but  it  was  that  their  disregard  of  my 
commands  might  in  the  future  lead  to  greater  recklessness 


IN   THE   LAND   OF  LITTLK   STICKS 


191 


in  provisions  ;  and  recklessness  of  provisions  was  just  as 
apt  as  not  to  end  in  our  starvation,  or,  what  concerned 
me  more,  failure  of  my  trip.  I  had  fetched  the  pemmi- 
can  to  have  at  a  time  and  cache  at  a  place  when,  as  near 
as  I  could  estimate,  we  should  be  in  direst  need.  To  eat 
it  now,  with  the  journey  barely  begun,  was  to  rob  us  of 
our  last  resource.  T  felt  if  I  could  go  without  meat  for 
two  days  and  resist  the  temptation  of  eating,  they,  whose 
very  existence  is  divided  into  alternate  periods  of  feasting 
and  fasting,  could  also,  atid  must,  if  my  determination  was 
to  carry  weight. 

I  was  not  a  little  exasperated,  too,  that  the  Indians 
should  treat  my  wishes  with  contempt, 
and  so  when  Seeyah  renewed  his  explora- 
tions for  pemmican  I  confess  I  was  in  fit 
humor  to  leav.,  no  doubt  in  their  minds 
as  to  whom  the  disposition  of  that  pem- 
mican actually  belonged.  Jumping  to 
my  feet,  I  grabbed  the  Indian  by  the 
shoulder  and  jerked  him  away  from 
my  sledge.  Instantly  all  the  Indians 
were  on  their  feet,  jabbering  and  ges- 
ticulating at  a  great  rate ;  and  while 
the  storm  of  their  displeasure  raged,  I 
backed  up  against  my  sledge  and  await- 
ed its  abatement,  shouting  ''■Ilia!"  every 
now  and  again,  and  keeping  a  sharp 
lookout  for  any  sudden  movement  on 
their  part.  As  in  my  mind's  eye  I  now  see  those  Indians 
grouped  about  the  teakettle,  all  talking  at  once,  and  cast- 
ing lowering  looks  at  me,  back  against  my  sledge,  shout- 
ing "///<?■/"  whenever  I  thought  they  could  hear  me  above 
their  own  din,  the  situation  seems  mirth  provoking.  But 
the  humor  of  it  did  not  appeal  to  me  so  much  at  that  time. 


INDIAN    LECGING 


192       ON   SNOW-SIIOES   TO   TlIK    IIAKREN    GROUNDS 


y 


I 


! 


Finally,  when  there  came  a  lull  in  the  vocal  bombard- 
ment, I  stepped  forward  and  entered  upon  the  most  elab- 
orate and  important  speech  I  had  yet  attempted  in  the 
sign  language.     I  held  their  attention  for  probably  fifteen 
minutes,  and  there  was  no  interruption  save  when  the 
dogs  broke  into  the  lodge  and  scrambled  and  fought  all 
over  us,  until  whipped  out  again.     I  expressed  to  them 
that  I  had  brought  the  pemmican  not  for  myself,  but  for 
us  all ;  that  we  had  only  begun  our  journey  ;  that  there 
might  come  a  time  when  it  would  save  us  from  death  ; 
that   I  intended  leaving  it  at  the  last  wood ;  that  they 
could  not  get  it  now  without  fighting  for  it,  and  if  we  fought 
I  should  surely  be  killed,  as  we  were  in  quarters  too  con- 
fined to  use  any  weapon  but  a  knife,  and  they  were  seven 
against  me,  and  then  the  "  Hig  Master"  (the  Hudson's  liay 
Company  commissioner,  Mr.  Chipman,  wh(    I  hope  will 
forgive  my  liking  him  to  an  implac.ible  Nemesis  in  my 
hour  of  need)  would  take  all  their  skins  away,  and  kill 
them  and  their  women  and  children.     I  do  not  believe  at 
any  time  they  really  had  an  idea  of  serious  personal  con- 
flict, but,  at  all  events,  I  made  them   understand   they 
could  not  get  the  pemmican  that  night  without  putting 
me  out  of  the  way,  and  they  left  off  muttering,  drank 
their  tea  in  sullen  silence,  glaring  at  mc  over  the  top  of 
their  cups. 

Before  pipes  had  been  lighted  two  of  the  scouts  came 
in,  each  with  a  caribou  head  on  his  back  and  bearing  the 
good  news  that  three  had  been  killed.  So  peace  reigned 
again  in  the  lodge,  and  the  late  unpleasantness  was  for- 
gotten, while  we  feasted  on  the  ears  and  eyes  and  tongues 
of  those  two  heads. 

But  these  two  heads  among  eight  men  furnished,  of 
course,  only  a  mouthful  apiece,  and  the  real  feast,  and,  I 
may  add,  our  last,  began  the  next  morning,  when  we  came 


»   c 
M   > 


t 


I>>    I 


V 


IN   THE    LAND  OF   LITTLE   STICKS 


•95 


to  where  the  three  carcasses  of  the  caribou  lay.  It  hap- 
pened that  there  were  a  few  scattering  little  sticks  near 
by,  and  half  of  us  gathered  firewood,  while  the  others 
guarded  the  caribou  from  the  rapacious  dogs.  To  hold 
the  dogs  in  check  is  to  turn  the  sledges  upside-down  and 
sit  on  them.  But  all  the  while  the  dogs  jump  and  tug 
and  howl,  and  now  and  again  one  slips  his  simple  harness, 
and  then  nothing  short  of  a  blow  that  knocks  him  nearly 
senseless  drives  him  from  the  caribou.  It  is  cruel  treat- 
ment, but  the  necessity  is  extreme.  Some- 
times, even  with  the  sledge  turned  over,  the 
starving,  straining  dogs  get  started  towards 
the  coveted  prize,  and  then  every  man  sets 
upon  them  with  whipstock  and  lash,  for  once 
those  four  dogs  got  to  the  carcass,  there  would 
be  no  hope  of  rescuing  any  of  the  meat. 
Sometimes,  frenzied  by  their  unsuccessful  ef- 
forts to  get  the  meat,  they  turn  on  one  anoth- 
er, and  then  ensues  a  dog-fight  of  such  fury 
as  can  never  be  witnessed  anywhere  beyond 
the  Barren  Grounds,  with  its  maddening  con- 
ditions. 

Even  though  by  some  transcendent  means  I  should  be 
given  plenty  to  eat,  not  anything  could  induce  me  to 
again  visit  the  Barrens  and  witness  the  sufferings  of  those 
poor  dumb  brutes.  Only  for  one  period  (I  think,  though 
not  absolutely  certain,  because  I  was  too  cold  and  miser- 
able to  write  in  my  note-book  every  day,  and  must  depend 
largely  on  memory)  of  three  days  on  the  trip  did  they 
go  entirely  without  meat.  At  all  others  they  had  a  little, 
just  a  mouthful,  except  twice,  when  we  camped  by  a  good 
killing  of  musk-ox,  and  then  they  fared  sumptuously.  But 
they  were  half  famished  practically  all  the  time,  and  my 
conscience  smote  me  sorely  as  I  noted  their  glaring  eyes 


RACING  SHOE, 

Canadian  Snow- 
Shoe  Club, 
3  feet  long 


n 


' 


196       ON    SNOW-SHOES  TO   TIIK    HAKKliN    GROUNDS 

and  tucked-up  stomachs,  and  realized  that  my  thirst  for 
adventure  was  the  cause  of  it  all.  We  were  fortunate 
enough  to  kill  caribou  and  musk-oxen  at  intervals  which 
enabled  us  to  give  the  dogs  just  a  bite  sometimes  every 
day,  and  at  least  every  other  day,  with  the  exception  of 
that  three-day  period. 

When  we  killed  caribou  the  dogs  were  fed  on  the  spot, 
and  the  little  meat  remaining  was  divided  among  the 
sledges,  to  be  carried  for  them  against  the  days  we  were 
not  so  lucky.  We  never  were  lucky  enough  to  kill  before 
this  little  supply  was  exhausted.  Had  we  been,  we,  the 
seven  Indians  and  I,  would  have  eaten  meat.  As  it  was, 
we  ate  the  intestines  and  fat,  and  the  dogs  ate  the  meat,  be- 
cause there  was  not  nourishment  enough  in  the  intestines 
for  the  dogs.  Before  we  left  Resolution,  Beniah  and  I  had 
a  thorough  understanding  on  this  point.  Many  of  the 
Indian  expeditions  to  the  Barrens  are  crippled  by  loss  of 
dogs  from  starvation,  and  I  knew  the  loss  of  our  dogs 
meant  failure ;  so  we  decided  if  there  was  any  starving 
the  greater  part  of  it  should  fall  on  us,  realizing  of  course 
that  if  the  worst  came  we  could  eat  the  dogs.  Beniah 
held  to  his  agreement,  and  enforced  compliance  from  the 
others,  and  to  his  wisdom  in  this  direction,  in  fact,  is  due 
much  of  our  success  in  getting  out  of  the  Barrens  in  such 
good  condition. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  the  ordinary  meal  for  a 
dog -train — i.e.,  four  dogs,  that  are  travelling  thirty  or 
more  miles  a  day — consists  of  a  caribou  hind  and  fore 
quarter,  that  we  had  twenty-eight  dogs,  and  that  we  never 
got  more  than  a  caribou  or  two  at  intervals  of  several 
days,  the  reader  may  understand  why  the  dogs  were  like 
wild  animals,  and  why  we  ate  the  intestines  and  grease 
and  saved  them  the  meat. 

When  we  killed  musk-ox  we  first  cut  off  meat  for  a  day 


^•.V/t  KnTi!Kt,i 


01 


FEEDING  THE   DOGS 


r 


IN*   THK    I-ANI)  01     LITT.'-E   STICKS 


199 


or  two's  dog- feeding,  and  then  turned  the  dogs  loose  on 
the  carcasses,  over  which  they  worried  and  snarled  and 
fought  the  livelong  night.  When  there  were  no  carcasses, 
they  were  fed  out  of  hand  from  the  slender  supply  on  the 
sledge,  and  then  they  fought  us,  and  worried  the  weaker 
among  themselves  into  dividing  the  frozen  chunks  that 
were  tossed  to  them. 

This  dog -feeding  was  a  trying  experience.  All  the 
trains  were  fed  at  the  same  time — when  we  camped  at 
night — and  such  a  scene  cannot  be  duplicated  anywhere 
on  earth.  As  we  emerged  from  the  lodge  with  the  tiny 
feed  rolled  up  in  the  skirt  of  our  capote,  there  was  a  rush 
by  the  dogs  that  pretty  nearly  carried  us  off  our  teet,  and 
frequehtly  knocked  down  the  lodge.  We  always  tried, 
but  never  with  success,  to  steal  a  march  on  the  dogs  and 
get  away  from  the  lodge  before  the  rush,  but  the  moment 
one  of  us  showed  his  head  they  gathered  for  the  assault, 
and  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  scramble  out  as  best 
we  could,  otherwise  they  would  have  poured  into  the 
lodge  and  torn  it  and  our  clothes  to  pieces  in  their  crazy 
hunger.  So  we  would  bolt  out  in  a  body,  heads  down, 
and  hugging  the  meat  to  our  breasts  with  one  hand,  use 
the  whip  vigorously  with  the  other,  while  the  dogs  jumped 
into  us  and  on  top  of  us  in  their  frantic  endeavors  to  tear 
away  the  little  scrap  of  meat  we  held.  Gradually  we 
would  separate,  and  each  man  attempt  to  gather  his  train 
by  lashing  those  that  did  not  belong  to  him,  and  calling 
by  name  those  that  did. 

When,  after  much  fighting,  each  had  gathered  his  own, 
the  actual  process  of  feeding  began,  and  this  again  de- 
manded much  activity  and  some  strategy  to  insure  every 
dog  of  your  train  getting  its  portion.  I  never  had  time 
to  notice  how  the  Indians  did  it,  but  my  method  was  to 
run  each  dog  in  turn  a  few  yards  from  the  other  three. 


200      ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO   TIIK    BAKKP:N   GROUNDS 


>  iJ 


:  >  ••' 


quickly  toss  his  meat  to  him  before  the  others  caught  up, 
and  then  stand  guard  over  him  while  he  ate  it. 

The  eating  did  not  occupy  much  time  —  there  was 
only  a  growl,  a  grab,  and  a  gulp,  and  the  meat  was 
gone. 

It  was  necessary  to  be  expeditious,  for  the  dogs  that 
had  swallowed  their  meat  ran  from  group  to  group 
seeking  those  that  had  not,  and  woe  betide  the  poor 
beast  that  attempted  to  masticate  his  morsel !  Two  of 
my  train,  Flossie  and  Finnette,  were  very  timid,  and  gave 
me  no  end  of  bother.  It  was  only  necessary  for  another 
dog  to  start  towards  them,  and  they  would  drop  their 
meat  and  run  off.  I  found  it  necessary  to  hold  them  by 
the  scuff  of  the  neck  while  they  ate,  and  I  laid  my  whip- 
stock  over  the  heads  of  the  dogs  that  fought  around  me. 

Feeding  animals  in  the "  Zoo  isn't  a  circumstance  to 
feeding  dogs  in  the  Barrens. 

As  I  have  said,  our  three-caribou  feast  of  that  morning 
— our  third  in  the  Land  of  Little  Sticks — was  the  last. 
I  like  to  dwell  on  it  even  now.  First  the  legs  of  the  cari- 
bou were  cut  off,  stripped  of  their  sinews  and  flesh,  and 
the  bones  cracked  open  for  the  marrow ;  then  the  heart 
and  kidneys  and  two  unborn  calves ;  then  the  tongues 
and  the  eyes  and  the  ears ;  and  all  the  while  ribs  were 
roasting,  stuck  upon  sticks  about  the  fire,  and  a  kettle  full 
of  what  was  left  from  the  dog-feed  hung  suspended  from 
a  tripod  over  all.  I  confined  myself  to  the  marrow  and 
ribs,  and  simply  marvelled  at  the  quantity  those  Indians 
ate.  When  we  started  on  again  there  was  not  left  a  great 
deal  of  the  three  caribou  to  load  on  to  the  sledges,  but 
the  Indians  were  in  good-humor. 


XVII 


THE  "  LAST  WOOD 


• 


About  noon  of  that  day,  from  the  top  of  a  ridge,  we 
saw,  far  in  the  distance,  a  black  patch,  so  much  larger 
than  those  we  had  passed  it  seemed  almost  as  though  we 
had  got  turned  about  and  were  travelling  towards  the 
timber's  edge.  But  my  compass  told  me  the  direction 
was  north,  and  Beniah  made  me  understand  by  signs  that 
this  was  the  "  last  wood."  It  loomed  up  almost  like  a 
forest ;  but  when  we  reached  it,  late  in  the  afternoon,  it 
proved  to  be  not  more  extensive  than  about  five  acres. 
But  all  things  go  by  comparison,  and  those  five  acres  of 
scattering  small  pine  were  as  gratifying  to  us  as  though 
they  had  made  a  Maine  forest.  Most  of  the  trees  averaged 
from  one  to  two  inches  in  diameter,  though  there  were 
some  twice  as  large,  and  I  noticed  a  very  few  that  might 
have  been  five  or  six  inches.  At  any  rate,  it  all  blazed 
warmly,  and  it  was  pleasant  after  our  experience  in  the 
Land  of  Little  Sticks  to  feel  the  heat  of  a  fire  once 
more.  How  deeply  I  was  to  appreciate  that  fire  a  few 
weeks  later ! 

Beniah  signed  me  next  morning  that  we  should  camp 
here  one  "  sleep,"  to  chop  wood  to  take  along  with  us, 
and  to  kill  caribou  to  cache  here  for  our  return.  But 
in  fact  we  remained  at  the  "last  wood'  two  "sleeps," 
because  the  caribou  were  not  to  be  had  easily,  and  the 
stormy  weather  developed  into  a  blizzard  that  delayed 


202        ON  SNOW-SHOES  TO   THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 


P. ' 


|! 


travel.     The  first  day  served  to  give  me  an  object-lesson 
as  to  the  deception  of  distances  on  the  Barrens. 

All  the  Indians  had  hunted  unsuccessfully  in  the  morn- 
ing and  returned  to  wood-chopping  in  the  afternoon,  and 
I  determined  to  venture  after  caribou,  as  I  knew,  with 

this  patch  of  timber  visible  from 
any  ridge  within  five  miles  or  so, 
I  could  not  lose  myself.  I  had 
gone,  I  suppose,  about  six  miles 
when,  by  the  aid  of  my  field-glass- 
es, I  counted  five  caribou  a  couple 
of  miles  away,  at  the  edge  of  a 
lake,  and  noted  that  a  very  strong 
wind  was  blowing,  and,  to  my  good- 
fortune,  from  them  to  me.  It  is 
difficult  to  approach  game  in  this 
country,  notwithstanding  its  vales 
and  mounds,  because  the  caribou 
are  almost  invariably  viewed  first 
on  a  lake  or  at  its  edge,  to  which 
the  undulations  descend  in  contin- 
uous long  sweeps.  But  I  made 
a  careful  stalk,  crawling  from  rock  to  rock  and  from 
snow-drift  to  snow-drift,  and  finally  reached  a  point  be- 
yond which  there  was  no  hope  of  undiscovered  approach. 
I  judged  I  was  about  three  hundred  yards  from  my 
quarry,  and  as  they  were  quietly  grazing  broadside  to  me, 
confidently  counted  on  taking  at  least  a  couple  of  tongues 
into  camp. 

I  raised  my  sight  to  300  yards;  a  quick,  steady  aim, 
and  I  pulled  trigger  for  the  first  time  on  Barren  Ground 
caribou.  But  no  caribou  fell,  nor  was  there  any  little  puff 
of  snow  to  tell  me  I  had  shot  over  or  under.  Three  times 
in  rapid  succession,  but  with  careful  sighting,  I  fired  at  the 


medicine-man's  necklace 


> 


< 

o 
o 

D 


r.  ^ 


3    =/, 


'•5    ^ 


O 
O 
O 

•«) 

o 

B 

w 


w^r\ 


«(■ 


If! 


THE  "LAST   WOOD" 


J05 


same  animal  with  the  same  results,  and  before  I  could 
reload  my  half-magazine  the  caribou  were  off  around  a 
point.  That  I  was  disgusted  is  hardly  necessary  to  say; 
that  I  was  bitterly  disappointed  those  sportsmen  who 
have  lost  their  supper  by  poor  marksmanship  will  know. 
But  my  wonder  at  not  having  scored  on  such  a  big  target 
— for  all  five  were  bunched — was  greater  than  my  disgust 
or  disappointment.  I  walked  over  to  see  if  I  had  drawn 
blood,  and,  reaching  the  place  where  the  caribou  had  been 
standing  in  what  seemed  an  incredibly  short  300  yards,  I 
paced  back,  and,  to  my  amazement,  found  the  distance 
measured  just  105  yards!  I  had,  of  course,  shot  far  over 
them.  But  I  was  thankful  to  have  made  this  discovery 
before  reaching  musk-ox,  even  though  it  had  cost  us  much 
needed  meat,  and  I  vowed  on  the  spot  to  at  once  begin 
schooling  my  eye  to  the  illusions  of  the  white  desert. 

I  followed  the  caribou  for  a  while,  in  hopes  of  getting 
another  chance,  but  they  had  gone  too  far;  and  then,  as 
I  headed  for  camp,  I  began  my  first  lessons  in  Barren 
Ground  distance-gauging  by  guessing  the  yards  to  a  stone 
and  then  pacing  them  off.  I  was  not  only  astonished  at 
the  discrepancy  between  my  guess  and  the  actual  dis- 
tance, but  oftentimes  by  the  size  of  the  rock  when  I 
reached  it.  A  stone  which  looked  as  large  as  a  cabin  at 
four  or  five  hundred  yards  would  turn  out  to  be  about  as 
big  as  a  bushel  basket.  Later,  on  the  one  or  two  very 
clear  cold  days  we  had,  the  illusion  was  reversed.  Of 
course  the  difficulties  of  determining  distances  on  the 
Barrens  are  exactly  similar  to  those  that  obtain  on  the 
ocean,  where  there  is  nothing  by  which  to  gauge  the  range 
of  one's  vision,  nor  any  object  on  either  side  for  a  com- 
parative focus.  I  found  much  difficulty  in  overcoming 
the  tendency  to  exaggerate  distance,  though  the  Indians 
apparently  were  not  so  troubled. 


2o6        ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO   THE   DARREN   GROUNDS 


■'!'  i ;: 


When  I  returned  to  camp  that  night  the  Indians  had 
finished  chopping  the  supply  of  wood  we  were  to  take, 
and  likewise  during  the  day  finished  the  remnants  of  the 
feast  left  from  the  day  before,  so  that  again  we  were  with- 
out meat.  We  were  to  have  left  the  "  last  wood  "  the 
next  morning,  but  the  thermometer  registered  58°  below, 
and  a  blizzard  of  such  severity  raged  that  the  Indians 
would  not  face  it ;  so  we  lay  in  our  robes  until  about  three 
o'clock,  when  the  fury  of  the  storm  lessened,  and  every- 
body turned  out  to  hunt.  When  we  assembled  again, 
four  hours  later,  there  was  a  yearling  for  the  dogs,  an  un- 
born calf  for  us,  and  a  cow  that  had  not  been  brought  in. 

The  temptation  to  linger  here,  where  at  least  there  was 
a  fire  to  warm  our  empty  stomachs,  was  considerable ;  but 
the  morning  of  the  third  day  broke  clear,  though  with 
such  a  biting  wind  as  almost  took  our  breath  away,  and 
we  realized  that  the  caribou  were  leaving  us,  and  there 
was  no  time  to  lose.  So  now  we  began  our  last  prepara- 
tions for  the  plunge  into  the  Barren  Grounds  proper.  We 
calculated  on  getting  back  to  this  point  in  about  twenty 
days,  and  were  taking  that  many  nights'  supply  of  wood, 
intending  to  push  due  north  for  from  ten  to  twelve  days. 
The  wood  we  took  from  the  largest  trees  to  be  found  in 
that  patch,  and  was  cut  into  blocks  just  the  width  of  a 
sledge — i.e.,  about  fourteen  inches — and  then  split  into 
quarters,  because  we  were  to  take  no  axe.  Every  sledge 
was  shod  with  extra  runners  to  protect  it  from  the  rocks, 
and  when  loaded  with  the  wood  there  was  hardly  room 
for  our  sleeping-robes  and  moccasins  and  duffel.  Then 
we  cached  the  caribou  cow  that  had  been  killed  the  day 
before,  along  with  my  rebellion-inciting  balls  of  pemmican, 
the  ten  pounds  of  flour,  half  of  my  remaining  supply  of 
tobacco,  tea,  and  cartridges,  and  every  article  that  was  not 
absolutely  necessary  to  our  continued  progress.     I  wrote 


il 


THE  "LAST   WOOD"  207 

also  and  left  in  the  cache  a  brief  account  of  our  journey 
up  to  that  time,  and  of  the  course  we  intended  to  pursue 

Not  far  to  the  westward  the  Franklin  party,  seventy- 
five  years  before,  had  raised  a  monument  to  their  memory 
in  the  name  of  Fort  Enterprise,  and  though  I  had  neither 
time  nor  tools,  not  even  the  wish,  to  raise  a  fool's  sign- 
board m  warning  to  others,  I  thought  it  as  well  to  leave 
some  remarks  at  the  threshold  of  that  great  wilderness 
where  those  that  enter  may  leave  hope  behind,  but  will 
stand  a  better  chance  of  getting  out  if  they  take  it  alone 
with  them.  ^ 


XVIII 


IN  THE   BARKEN   GROUNDS 


',    I: 


^1  '■■ 
V,  :. 


i-^ 


k 


If  V 


|->U| 


When  we  left  the  "  last  wood,"  toiling  over  the  succes- 
sion of  rocky  ridges  that  lay  to  the  north,  a  curiously  de- 
pressing sensation  possessed  me  as  I  viewed  the  "  last 
wood  "  grow  smaller  and  smaller.  Piece  by  piece  its  size 
diminished  as  the  intervening  elevations  shut  ofif  the  out- 
lying patches.  It  seemed  like  bidding  farewell  to  the  last 
tie  that  connected  us  with  the  living  world — and  then  at 
the  next  ridge  it  was  gone,  and  not  a  green  thing  relieved 
the  awful  ghastliness  of  the  whiteness  that  encircled  U's 
for  miles  and  miles.  Wherever  I  looked — north,  south, 
east,  west — nothing  showed  but  that  terrible  stretch  of 
silent,  grinning  white.  And  the  sun  shone  down  on 
this  desolate  scene  and  on  me  as  placidly  as  it  shone 
upon  the  most  blessed  of  God's  world,  if  with  less 
warmth  ! 

There  was  no  halting  once  we  had  climbed  the  long 
reach  of  ridges  that  led  north  from  our  camp  and  passed 
out  of  sight  of  the  '*  last  wood."  It  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  us  to  make  good  time  if  our  wood  was  to  carry  us 
as  far  north  as  I  wished  to  penetrate,  and  I  was  much 
pleased  with  Beniah  for  the  pace  he  set.  In  fact,  I  never 
ceased  to  be  thankful  that  I  had  secured  him,  for  not  only 
did  we  maintain  a  good  gait  in  the  face  of  the  hardest 
going,  but  we  continuously  faced  such  storms  as  would 
have  stopped  any  other  leader.    Beniah  was  a  plucky  Ind- 


Mi 


IN    THK    HAKREN    GROUNDS 


209 


ian,  the  pluckiest  in  the  country.     That  was  why  I  made 
such  an  effort  to  get  him. 

We  must  have  gone  close  to  forty  miles  the  first  day, 
and  at  noon  of  the  second  came  to  a  big  lake  the  Indians 
called,  as  near  as  I  can  write  it,  Ecka-tua  (which  means  fat 
water — lake),  and  I  was  able  for  the  first  time  since  leav- 
ing Beniah's  lodge  to  about  locate  myself  on  the  map, 
Ecka-tua  on  the  map,  as  T  knew,  is  Point  Lake,  the  source 
of  Coppermine  River;  and  as  I  also  knew  it  was  334  miles 
from  Fort  Enterprise  to  the  mouth  of  the  Coppermine 
by  canoe,  via  Ecka-tua,  I  was  sure  we  could  get  vcr\'  close 
to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  travelling  due  north,  at  the  rate  we 
had  been  going.  I  had  no  sextant,  and  relied  for  deter- 
mination of  location  upon  the  deflection  of  my  compass 
needle  (which  at  this  point  was  35°  east  of  north),  and 
upon  the  number  of  miles  we  made  each  day.  The  num- 
ber of  degrees  of  deflection  I  read  at  night,  when  it  did 
not  storm,  by  the  north  star,  and  the  number  of  miles  per 
day  is  easily  reckoned  by  every  man  who  has  had  any 
walking  experience.     Besides,  I  had  a  pedometer. 

Ecka-tua  was  full  four  miles  wide  at  our  point  of  cross- 
ing. We  had  no  meat  to  eat  and  no  wood  to  spare  for 
mid-day  tea,  so  we  pushed  on,  running,  which  was  rather 
trying  on  fare  limited  to  an  occasional  pipe  and  a  mouth- 
ful of  very  dry  snow.  We  were  keeping,  of  course,  a 
sharp  lookout  for  caribou  all  this  time,  and,  besides  having 
scouts  out  on  either  side,  we  halted  on  the  top  of  every 
ridge  that  was  high  enough  to  furnish  a  view,  where  I 
scanned  the  country  on  all  sides  through  my  glasses,  and 
we  all  smoked  another  pipe  and  tried  to  suck  some  moist- 
ure from  the  snow.  There  is  a  difference  in  eating  snow 
and  sucking  the  moisture  from  it ;  neither  is  satisfactor}-, 
but  the  former  is  harmful  to  the  traveller,  and  pretty 

certain   to  be  followed  by  increased  thirst  and  cramps. 
14 


.:    f 


LUJ. 


I' 

4. 


2IO     ON  Snow-shoes  to  thk  hakkex  grounds 

Late  in  the  afternoon,  from  the  top  of  a  ridge,  we 
viewed  a  small  herd  of  eight  caribou  on  a  lake  below  us, 
and  I  witnessed  the  first  practical  demonstration  of  the 
reason  why  the  Indians  are  such  unsuccessful  hunters. 
On  the  discovery  of  the  caribou  the  dogs  had  been  driven 
back  just  under  the  brow  of  the  hill,  where  they  were  left 
in  charge  of  half  our  number,  and  the  rest  of  us  prepared 
for  the  attempt  to  get  some  meat.  The  wind  was  blowing 
from  east  to  west,  and  I  was  surprised  to  see  two  of  the 
Indians  going  off  to  the  east  side  of  the  caribou. 

I  circled  well  to  the  west,  though  not  too  far  away 
to  keep  Heniah,  who  was  on  my  right,  in  sight.  I  had 
worked  my  way  down  to  the  lake,  and  was  making  a  good 
stalk,  with  every  chance  of  getting  within  nice  range, 
when  the  shouting  of  the  Indians  and  yelping  of  the  dogs 
attracted  my  attention,  and,  lo  and  behold  !  coming  down 
the  hill  straight  for  the  caribou,  and  in  plain  view,  were 
the  dogs  and  the  Indians,  some  riding  on  the  sledges, 
some  running,  but  all  yelling  and  bearing  down  on  the 
caribou.  Was  ever  a  greater  shock  visited  upon  the 
nerves  of  a  still-hunter !  It  simply  petrified  me.  I 
stopped  and  stared  and  rubbed  my  eyes  to  make  sure 
that  those  running,  shouting  Indians  were  actually  the 
ones  I  had  left  a  few  moments  before  trembling  in  antici- 
pation of  meat  to  eat. 

Of  course  the  caribou  started  to  run.  They  circled 
around  the  lake  for  a  time  (showing  when  they  trotted 
such  knee  and  hock  action  as  would  put  the  hackney  to 
shame),  all  the  Indians  and  the  dogs  chasing  them  mean- 
while, and  finally  turned  off  over  the  ridge,  where  an  Ind- 
ian who  had  lingered  behind  was  lucky  enough  to  kill 
one. 

I  was  so  disgusted  at  the  display  that  I  sat  down  and 
pondered  why  God  in  His  wisdom  had  made  these  men, 


(7: 1 
It    i 


h 


r, 

> 

2 

n 

c 
c 


ill 


'i 


[y 


IN   THE   ItARREN    GROUNDS 


2'3 


whose  very  existence  ilepeiids  on  their  hunting,  so  wanting 
in  skill  and  judgment.  Mad  it  been  less  serious  I  should 
have  been  amused  by  the  spectacle  of  a  snow-shoed  Ind- 
ian chasing  the  fleetest  quadruped  on  earth.  As  it  was,  I 
could  not  suppress  a  smile — in  irony,  perhaps. 

And  this  is  the  Northland  Indian's  method  of  hunting 
caribou.  Sometimes  when  hunting  singly  or  in  pairs  they 
make  the  nearest  approach  they  know  to  a  stalk  ;  but  the 
usual  method,  invariable  when  they  are  in  a  body,  is  to 
rush  on  to  the  caribou,  and  trust  for  success  to  their  own 
numbers  and  the  confusion  of  the  animals.  If  it  were 
not  that  the  Barren  Ground  caribou  or  reindeer  is  a  stupid 
sort  of  creature,  the  Indians  would  score  no  oftener  than 
they  do  on  moose  or  the  woodland  caribou.  But  the 
reindeer  appears  to  profit  no  more  by  experience  than 
the  Indians  themselves. 

After  this  experience  of  caribou-hunting  I  joined  no 
more  "  chasing  "  parties ;  I  was  having  every  day  all  the 
running  I  could  well  attend  to,  and  so  thereafter  when  we 
sighted  reindeer  I  devoted  myself  to  stalking  those  that 
had  been  cut  off  from  the  main  body.  But  never  in  all 
my  life  have  I  seen  such  wretched  marksmanship  as  those 
Indians  displayed.  They  not  only  miserably  bungled 
their  approach  to  the  caribou,  but  their  indiscriminate 
firing  and  the  commotion  they  and  the  dogs  created  made 
it  about  impossible  for  me  to  get  within  range. 

Not  the  least  trying  of  Barren  Ground  hunting  is  the 
bewildering  glare  that  assails  your  eyes  when  you  have 
put  up  your  glasses,  as  you  must  so  soon  as  you  start  in 
pursuit  of  game.  Even  the  darkest  of  smoked  goggles, 
and,  what  are  still  better,  those  of  native  manufacture, 
that  are  made  of  bone,  with  only  a  T-shaped  aperture  be- 
fore the  eye,  cannot  insure  you  against  snow-blindness. 
There  were  very  few  bright  days  during  our  wanderings 


E 


-i 


fi 


11 


214       ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO  THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 

in  the  Barrens ;  nevertheless  every  man  in  the  party  but 
myself  was  more  or  less  severely  snow-blind,  one  or  two 
so  badly  as  to  necessitate  their  holding  on  to  a  sledge- 
line  for  guidance. 

As  I  had  in  times  past  been  very  badly  snow-blinded,  I 
took  extraordinary  precautions  in  the  Barrens ;  for  the 
thought  of  getting  up  with  musk-oxen  and  being  unable 
to  sight  my  rifle  was  unendurable.  So  I  drew  the  hand- 
kerchief that  was  wound  about  my  head  in  lieu  of  a  hat 
down  to  the  tops  of  my  goggles.  This  kept  the  sun  from 
shining  down  in  my  eyes,  while  little  pieces  of  black  silk 
fitted  to  the  wire  screening  at  the  sides  shut  out  all  light 
from  that  direction.  I  always  walked  behind  my  sledge, 
and  kept  my  eyes  on  the  tail  of  its  moose-skin  wrapper. 
While  my  eyes  pained  me  incessantly,  as  much  from  the 
smoke  of  the  tiny  fire  in  the  lodge  as  from  the  glare  of 
the  sun,  I  was  never  snow-blind. 

Referring  again,  before  I  go  on  with  my  trip,  to  the 
handkerchief  I  wound  about  my  head  after  the  Indian 
fashion,  I  may  say  it  served  me  better  than  all  the  other 
head-gear  I  possessed.  I  had  set  much  store  by  a  w^orsted 
hood  knitted  for  me  in  Canada,  with  a  neck-piece  that 
fi^ted  about  the  chin,  and  a  draw-string  by  which  I  could 
close  it  up  to  my  eyes.  But  I  found  it  more  harmful 
than  beneficial,  for  the  reason  that  the  freezing  of  my 
breath  transformed  its  entire  front  into  a  sheet  of  ice, 
which  it  was  impossible  to  thaw  by  our  wretched  fire,  and 
served  only  to  freeze  my  face  more  quickly  than  expos- 
ure. For  the  same  reason  I  carried  a  small  pair  of  scissors 
to  keep  my  beard  and  mustache  clipped  short.  So  the 
worsted  hood  was  discarded,  and  the  handkerchief  held 
my  hair,  which  reached  nearly  to  my  shoulders,  in  place 
over  my  ears,  and  permitted  me  to  draw  the  hood  of  my 
fur  capote  forward  and  bind  it  snugly  in  place.    Of  course 


'I 
I 

I 

s 


IN    THE   BARKEN   GROUNDS  -T5 

my  cheeks  and  nose  and  chin  froze,  but  they  would  have 
done  so  anyway,  and  I  could  thaw  tb.eni  out  by  rubbing 
with  snow— a  limbering  process  to  which   the  worsted 
hood  was  not  susceptible.     To  be  sure,  the  method  was 
rather  hard  on  my  face,  which  by  the  time  I  returned  to 
Beniah's  lodge  was  as  blackened  and  cut  up  as  an  alligator- 
skin  ;  and  it  was  hard  on  my  fingers  too,  which  froze  with 
about  every  treatment  of  this  sort,  but  that  was  no  more 
than  I  expected.     So  long  as  my  feet  did  not  freeze  to 
stop  my  progress,  I  suffered  all  else  without  a  murmur. 
I  was  as  careful  of  my  feet  as  of  my  eyes.     There  was  not 
much  danger  of  their  freezing  during  the  almost  contin- 
uous running   of   the   daytime,  and   at   night  when  we 
camped  my  first  act  was  to  put  on  my  unborn  musk-ox- 
skin  slippers  and  a  pair  of  fresh  duffel,  which  I  carried  in- 
side my  shirt,  next  my  skin  ;  then  I  would  put  on  two 
morn  pair  of  duffel  and  a  pair  of  moccasins,  taken  from 
my  sledge.     Those  I   took  off  I  put   inside  my  sweater 
and   slept   on    them.     In  the   morning  I  again    put  my 
musk-ox-skin  slippers  and  one  pair  of  duffel  inside  my 
shirt,  where  I  carried  them  all  day. 

But  then  these  are  details— and  probably  uninteresting 
ones— and  I  must  get  on  to  my  first  musk-ox  hunt. 


. 


\-^'\y 


XIX 


THE   FIRST  MUSK-OX 


Two  days  more  of  hard  running,  in  a  wind  that  seemed 
to  come  direct  from  the  north  pole,  brought  us — \vc  did 
not  know  where,  but  certainly  once  again  to  the  verge  of 
starvation.  Meat  there  was  none,  and  the  little  pieces  of 
intestines  and  grease  were  not  calculated  to  keep  one  up 
to  such  vigorous  work.  There  had  been  no  change  m  the 
country;  indeed,  the  entire  stretch  of  Barren  Ground,  so 
far  as  I  saw,  repeats  over  and  over  again  its  few  character- 
istics.  Probably  as  you  go  north  it  becomes  a  little  more 
rolling,  if  I  may  use  such  a  word,  where  its  face  is  broken 
by  tidges  of  rock,  round-backed  and  conical  hills,  small 
lakes,  long,  slow-rising,  and  moderate  elevations,  all  entire- 
ly unconnected  and  separated  from  one  another,  and  yet 
the  view  from  an  especially  prominent  elevation  always 
reveals  the  general  prairie  (rolling)  contour  of  the  whole 
benighted  country. 

And  everywhere  silence ;  no  sign  of  life,  no  vegetation, 
save  the  black  moss  that  is  used  for  fuel  in  summer  by 
the  Indians,  and  the  gray  moss  and  lichens  upon  which 
the  musk-ox  and  caribou  feed. 

A  glutinous  soup  is  made  by  starving  Indians  on  their 
summer  trips  from  one  kind  of  lichen,  and  there  is  a  weed 
from  wliich  a  substitute  for  tea  is  brewed  in  times  of  ex- 
tremity. 

It  was  about  three  o'clock  when  we  dragged  ourselves 


% 


U\ 


,( 


THE   FIRST   MUSK-OX 


217 


:li 


:d 


iS 


r 


h 


wearily  to  the  top  of  one  of  the  many  rocky  ridges  we  had 
been  going  up  and  down  all  day,  almost  dreading  to  make 
the  usual  survey  for  the  game  we  had  looked  for  so  often 
and  in  vain  during  the  last  two  days.  One  quick,  eager 
glance,  that  turned  to  despair  as  neither  musk-ox  nor 
caribou  was  to  be  seen  in  any  direction,  and  we  sat  down 
to  draw  consolation  and  nourishment  from  our  pipes. 

Suddenly  keen-eyed  Beniah  jumped  to  his  feet,  and  then 
on  top  of  a  rock,  where  he  stood  excitedly  pointing  to  the 
northwest,  and  tremulously  repeating  "/iV/r^v//  cf/iai/"  as 
though  to  convince  himself  that  his  eyes  were  not  play- 
ing him  false.  We  were  all  standing  in  a  second,  staring 
into  the  horizon  where  Beniah  pointed  ;  but  I  could  not 
discover  anything,  except  what  seemed  to  be  a  vapor  com- 
ing up  out  of  the  rocks  four  miles  away,  and  that  I  did 
not  at  once  recognize  as  the  mist  which  arises  from  a  herd 
of  animals  when  the  mercury  is  ranging  between  60°  and 
70°  below  zero,  and  may  be  seen  five  miles  away  on  a  clear 
day.  A  long  look  through  my  field-glasses  told  me  the 
"  rocks"  were  animals  of  some  sort,  but  not  caribou  ;  and 
as  I  handed  the  glasses  to  Beniah  I  said,  ''  litlicn,  ilia,'' 
and  motioned  him  to  look.  I  think  he  was  nearly  as 
much  exercised  by  the  power  of  the  glasses  as  by  the 
prospect  of  game ;  at  all  events,  so  soon  as  he  got  them 
ranged  on  the  vapor  he  set  up  a  yell  that  I  interpreted  to 
mean  cjcri,  and  made  a  rush  for  his  sledge. 

Instantly  there  was  excitement  enough  on  top  of  that 
ridge  to  put  life  into  eight  hungry  men.  I  never  beheld 
such  airitation.  The  Indians  for  a  minute  huddled  to- 
gether,  chattering  and  grinning  and  gesticulating,  and 
then  each  man  rushed  to  his  sledge  and  began  slipping 
his  dogs  from  the  harness.  I  knew  then  we  had  sighted 
musk-ox.  Of  course  I  had  suited  my  action  to  the  Ind- 
ians', and  began  unhitching  my  dogs  also,  but  my  harness 


,i 


'1 


n 


2i8      ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO  THE   BARREN    GROUNDS 

came  from  the  fort  and  had  buckles,  which  in  the  bitter 
cold  were  unyielding,  and  by  the  time  I  had  got  all  my 
dogs  loose,  put  on  my  lighter  capote — for  I  saw  we  were 
in  for  a  long  run — and  strapped  on  my  cartridge-belt,  all 
the  Indians  and  all  the  dogs  had  several  hundred  yards' 
start,  and  were  going  along  at  a  rattling  pace.  I  saw  at 
once  that  it  was  every  man  for  himself  on  this  expedition, 
and  if  I  got  a  musk-ox  I  should  have  to  work  for  him. 
And  then  I  settled  grimly  to  the  business  of  running. 
Within  about  two  miles  I  had  caught  up  with  the  Indians, 
who  had  stretched  out  into  a  long  column,  with  Seco  and 
Echeena  leading  by  half  a  mile.  In  another  mile  I  had 
worked  my  way  through  the  stragglers,  and  was  hard  on 
the  heels  of  Echeena,  but  Seco  was  still  about  two  hun- 
dred yards  ahead,  and  going  as  though  he  could  keep  it 
up  indefinitely.  On  my  attempt  to  pass  him  Echeena  let 
out  a  link,  and  I  had  all  I  could  do  to  keep  at  his  heels, 
but  in  our  race  for  second  place  we  cut  down  Seco's  lead 
by  a  hundred  yards. 

All  this  time  we  had  been  running  over  a  succession  of 
sharp  ridges,  completely  covered  with  all  shapes  and  sizes 
of  rocks,  and  set  in  snow  that  was  soft  and  about  a  foot 
and  a  half  deep.  With  tripping  shoes  we  of  course  sank 
in  the  snow  at  every  step  to  within  six  inches  of  our 
knees,  while  our  shoes  jammed  in  the  rocks  that  lay  close 
together,  or  caught  on  those  we  attempted  to  clear  in  our 
stride.  It  was  a  species  of  hurdle-racing,  with  the  softest 
of  take-off  and  landing  sides,  and  obstacles  that  were  not 
to  be  knocked  over.  It  was  going  that  would  test  the 
bottom  of  the  well-fed,  best-conditioned  athlete ;  how  it 
wore  on  a  half-starved  man  may  be  imagined. 

It  seemed  as  though  we  should  never  view  the  musk- 
oxen.  Ridge  after  ridge  we  toiled  over,  and  still  that 
little  cloud  of  vapor  appeared  .is  far  off  as  when  first 


■h 


THE  FIRST    MUSK-OX 


219 


sighted.  Our  positions  remained  unchanged — Seco  lead- 
ing with  three  dogs,  Echeena  and  I  a  hundred  yards  be- 
hind, and  half  a  mile  back  of  us  the  remainder  of  the 
Indians  and  dogs.  At  such  times  as  the  deadly  fatigue 
of  running  permitted  coherent  thought  I  wondered  why 
Seco  maintained  such  a  pace,  for  I  supposed  when  the 
musk-oxen  were  located  he  would  of  course  delay  his  at- 
tack until  all  the  Indians  and  dogs  had  come  up ;  but  I 
had  seen  enough  of  the  Indians  not  to  take  any  chances ; 
and  so  I  kept  on,  each  step  seeming  the  last  I  could  pos- 
sibly make. 

As  we  were  working  our  way  up  a  rather  higher  and 
broader  ridge  I  heard  the  dogs  bark,  and,  rushing  past 
Echeena,  reached  the  top  in  time  to  see  a  herd  of  about 
twenty-five  to  thirty  musk-oxen,  just  startled  into  moving 
along  another  ridge  about  a  quarter-mile  beyond  by  Seco, 
who  with  his  three  dogs  was  racing  after  them  not  fifty 
yards  ahead  of  me.  Disgust,  disappointment,  and  physi- 
cal distress  momentarily  stupefied  me.  Then  the  sight  of 
the  musk-oxen,  and  the  thought  of  what  I  had  endured  to 
reach  them,  fired  me  to  renewed  action.  I  anathematized 
Seco  and  all  the  Northland  Indians  for  their  fool  methods 
of  hunting,  and  increased  my  pace.  The  musk-oxen  were 
now  in  full  run  to  the  north  along  the  top  of  the  ridge, 
galloping  like  cattle,  with  heads  carried  well  out,  though 
not  lowered,  and  going  at  a  pace  and  with  an  ease  over 
the  rocks  that  surprised  me.  Their  big  bodies,  with  the 
long  hair  hanging  down  to  emphasize  the  shortness  of 
legs,  gave  a  curious  appearance  to  the  flying  herd. 

The  wind  was  blowing  a  gale  from  the  south,  and  we 
had  hardly  reached  the  top  of  the  ridge  on  which  the 
musk-oxen  had  been  running  when  they  disappeared  over 
the  northern  end  of  it.  By  the  time  I  reached  the  end  of 
the  ridge  the  main  herd  was  a  mile  away  to  the  north, 


ON   SNOW-SlIOliS   TO   TIIK    IJAKRLN   GROUNDS 


r.\ 


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^^ 


and  still  going,  but  four  had  separated  from  the  band,  and 
were  running  through  some  hollows  that  bore  almost  due 
east.  I  instantly  determined  to  follow  these  four — be- 
cause I  saw  I  could  get  to  the  leeward  of  them,  and  I  felt 
they  would  eventually  head  north  to  rejoin 
,K.  herd.  A  caribou  always  circles  up  wind, 
but  musk-oxen  travel  in  any  direction  that 
necessity  demands.  Seco,  with  his  dogs,  was 
just  ahead  of  me,  keeping  after  the  main  band, 
and  Echeena  I  had  lost  sight  of.  I  knew  that 
.M,.ii  ^'-.u'i  from  the  Indians  might  cost  me  my 
lift,,  ^'.i  '.iusk-ox  was  the  first  and  life  the 
secondary  c:  isideration  at  that  moment.  And 
)  *arced  oti  ,  -.'■';  fastest  gait  to  the  north- 
east, k'cV'ii.^,  p  -'fc  ''•etween  the  musk-oxen 
and  me,  anl  i<r.owUig  if  they  crossed  ahead  to 
the  north  I  should  come  on  their  tracks. 

I  do  not  know  how  far  I  ran,  or  how  long  I 

ran ;   I  only  remember  that  after  a  time  the 

rocks   and   the   snow  whirled   around  me   at 

such  a  pace  I  could  not  distinguish  where  one 

began  and  the  other  ended  ;   the  great,  dull, 

dead  white    surface   before   me    appeared   to 

rise  and  fall,  and  when  I  tripped  over  a  rock  I  seemed 

to  tumble  a  hundred  feet  and  to  take  a  hundred  years  to 

regain  my  feet. 

Sometimes  I  had  to  pull  myself  up  on  to  my  feet  by 
the  aid  of  the  very  rock  which  perhaps  had  laid  me  low. 
Once  I  lost  my  snow-shoe,  and  though  it  was  really  not  a 
yard  away,  I  started  on  a  run  after  it — it  seemed  so  far  off. 
Everything  looked  as  though  I  were  peering  through  the 
wrong  end  of  my  field-glasses.  As  I  ran,  my  eyes  pained 
me  exquisitely,  and  I  remember  the  horrible  possibility 
occurred  to  me  of  my  right  eye  (which  is,  in  fact,  much 


ONE  OF  THK 
FIRST  STEEL 

KNIVES 

TRADED  TO 

INDIANS 


THE    FIRST    MUSK-OX 


221 


weaker  than  my  left)  going  snow-blind  by  the  time  I  got 
within  shot  of  the  musk-oxen. 

And  as  I  reached  the  bottom  of  each  ridge  it  seemed  to 
me  1  could  not  struggle  to  the  top,  even  though  a  thousand 
musk-oxen  awaited  my  coming.  I  was  in  a  dripping 
perspiration,  and  had  dropped  my  capote  and  cartridge- 
belt,  after  thrusting  half  a  dozen  cartridges  into  my  trou- 
sers pockets,  and  my  nine- pound  45.90  weighed  thirty. 
I  hardly  knew  whether  I  were  going  up  ridges  or  down 
ridges.  Everything  waltzed  about  me.  I  ran  on  and  on  in 
a  sort  of  stupor,  until,  as  I  got  to  the  top  of  a  little  ridge, 
I  saw  two  musk-oxen  about  a  hundred  yards  ahead  of  and 
running  easily  though  directly  from  me.  And  then  the 
blood  surged  through  my  veins,  the  mist  cleared  from 
my  eyes,  and  the  rocks  stopped  whirling  about  me,  for 
there,  within  range,  was  my  quarry.  I  swung  my  rifle  into 
position  and  dropped  on  my  knee  for  surer  aim.  Heav- 
ens!  my  hand  shook  so  that  the  front  sight  travelled  all 
over  the  horizon,  and  my  heart  thumped  against  my  side 
as  though  it  would  burst.  I  had  sense  enough  left  to  real- 
ize my  shot  might  mean  success  or  failure — for  I  felt  my 
force  was  nearly  spent. 

For  a  moment  I  rested  to  get  my  breath — and  the 
musk-oxen  were  still  going  from  me — and  then — another 
attempt — the  fore  sight  for  an  instant  held  true — another 
second's  breathing — a  quick  aim — and  I  pressed  the  trig- 
ger. What  a  feeling  of  exultation  as  I  saw  my  quarry 
stagger  and  then  drop!  I  was  dizzy  with  delight.  I  gave 
vent  to  a  yell,  which,  together  with  the  report  of  my  rifle, 
sent  the  other  musk-ox  into  a  wild  gallop.  It  turned 
sharply  to  the  left  and  went  over  a  ridge,  with  rne  fol- 
lowing on  a  run,  all  the  while  endeavoring  to  throw  an- 
other cartridge  into  my  rifle  barrel.  Rut  the  excessive 
cold,  aided  probably  by  my  excited  action,  handicapped 
the  mechanism,  and  the  shell  jammed. 


m 


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:''    i 


111    •■. 


222       ON   SNOW-SIIOKS   TO   THE   HARREN   GROUNDS 

By  the  time  I  had  sent  the  cartridge  home,  running 
meanwhile,  I  got  over  the  ridge,  and  was  just  drawing  a 
bead  on  the  galloping  musk-ox,  when  two  shots  in  quick 
succession  turned  it  staggering,  and  as  it  dropped  I  sent  a 
bullet  where  it  would  do  the  most  good — just  as  Echccna 
and  one  dog  came  running  down  from  a  ridge  opposite. 
So  that  I  and  Echeena  had  the  honor  of  scoring  the  first 
and  second  musk-ox.  Then  I  went  back  over  the  ridge  to 
look  at  the  one  I  had  brought  down.  It  was  a  cow.  The 
sex  was  a  disappointment,  to  be  sure,  and  I  should  not 
take  this  head  that  had  cost  me  so  much  to  secure ;  but 
nothing  could  dull  the  joy  of  having,  after  a  tramp  of 
(about)  twelve  hundred  miles,  killed  the  most  inaccessible 
beast  in  the  whole  wide  world. 

After  I  had  made  sure  the  musk-cow  was  really  dead,  I 
started  again  and  to  the  north,  hoping  I  might  get  on  the 
track  of  the  other  two  or  some  other  stragglers  from  the 
main  herd.  Probably  I  went  several  miles  farther,  buoyed 
up  by  the  excitement  of  my  success,  but  saw  the  tracks 
of  no  living  thing. 

The  sun  was  setting  as  I  turned  around  to  go  back  to 
my  musk-cow,  where  I  supposed  the  Indians  would  bring 
up  sledges  and  camp,  and  I  had  walked  some  time  when 
I  realized  that,  other  than  going  south,  I  had  not  the  re- 
motest idea  in  what  precise  direction  I  was  travelling,  or 
just  where  that  musk-cow  lay.  I  could  not  afford  to 
waste  any  time  or  lose  myself,  for  I  had  no  capote,  and 
the  wind  I  was  now  facing  had  frozen  my  perspiration- 
soaked  shirts  as  stiff  and  hard  as  boards.  So  I  turned 
about  and  puzzled  out  my  always  half  and  sometimes 
wholly  obliterated  snow-shoe  tracks  back  to  where  I  had 
gone  in  my  continued  search  for  musk-oxen,  and  from 
thence  back  to  my  fallen  quarry,  where  I  arrived  about 
nine   o'clock,  to    find,  sure    enough,  the   lodge   pitched, 


iJ/ 


THK    FIRST    MUSK-OX  223 

and  the   Indians  feasting  on  raw  and  half-fro/.en  musk- 
ox  fat. 

Gnawing  a  piece  of  this  fat,  and  hardly  able  to  crawl 
with  the  cold  and  fatigue,  I  followed  back  my  tracks  from 
here  until  I  found  my  capote  and  belt.     It  was  nearly 
m.dnight  before  Seco,  badly  frozen,  turned  up  to  report 
the  killmg  of  two  musk-oxen,  and  we  had  tea  (for  the 
httle  fire  is  never  kindled  until  all  are  in,  because  the  tea 
would  freeze  in  a  very  few  minutes  after  making).     Sev- 
eral of  the  men   were  snow-blind,  and  what   with    their 
groans,  the  fighting  of  the  dogs  over  the  frozen  musk-cow 
my  ice-coated  shirts,  to  thaw  which  there  was  not  warmth' 
enough  in  my  body,  and  a  67°-below-zero  temperature 
the  night  of  our  first  musk-ox  killing  was  memorable. 


r  ■\ , 


XX 


THE    MUSK-OX    AT   HOME 


I 


The  musk-ox  {Ovilws  viosc/iatus)  seems  to  be  the  miss- 
ing link  between  the  ox  and  the  sheep.  Their  teeth  are  like 
those  of  a  sheep  and  their  feet  hkc  those  of  the  ox.  They 
are  said  also  to  have  sheep's  kidneys,  but,  although  I  saw 
them  many  times,  my  ignorance  on  the  general  subject 
of  kidneys  prevented  my  recognizing  a  similarity.  In- 
deed, in  appearance,  especially  when  running  and  with 
their  curling  horns,  it  is  not  difficult  to  fancy  them  a  huge 
well-fleeced  old  ram  scampering  off. 

When  full  grown  the  musk-ox  is  about  two-thirds  the 
size  of  a  bison  and  about  as  large  as  the  average  of  the 
English  black  cattle. 

The  Indians  estimate  the  flesh  of  a  mature  musk-cow 
equal  to  about  three  Barren  Land  caribou,  and  the  bull  would 
weigh,  I  should  say,  at  least  two  hundred  pounds  heavier. 

They  are  gregarious,  and  travel  in  herds  that  number,  as 
near  as  I  could  determine  from  observation  and  investiga- 
tion, from  ten  to  twenty.  Larger  herds  of  course  are 
seen  occasionally,  but  fifty  would  be  an  unusually  large 
number. 

At  the  time  of  my  visit  to  the  Barren  Grounds,  /.  v., 
March  and  April,  we  found  the  bulls  and  cows  together, 
though  the  number  of  cows  very  largely  predominated. 
One  herd  we  encountered  was  all  bulls  ;  another  all  cows, 
saving  a  few  yearling  and  two-year-old  bull  calves. 


H 

a 
t 


t 


I 


Tin:    MUSK   0\    AT    IlO.Ml': 


As  a  rule  each  herd  of  ten  to  fifteen  cows  has  one  or 
two  bulls. 

When  they  are  attacked  —  and  their  archenemy  is  tlie 
arctic  wolf  —  they  form  a  circle,  with  tho  calves  inside, 
rumps  together,  and  lieads  facing  the  enemy. 

Their  range  is  from  about  the  65th  degree  of  latitude 
north  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  from  Hudson's  Hay  on  the 
east  to  the  Coppermine  River  on  the  west.  Formerly 
they  were  found  as  far  west  as  the  Mackenzie  River,  but 
few,  if  any,  have  been  seen  in  that  vicinity  for  a  dozen 
years.  Outside  of  this  extreme  northern  portion  of  North 
America,  Grinnell  Land,  and  North  Greenland,  the  animal 
is  found  nowhere  else  in  the  world.  Fossils  have  been 
unearthed  in  Siberia,  Greenland,  Alaska  and  northern 
Europe  showing  its  range  formerly  to  have  been  very 
much  e.xtended,  but  now  it  is  not  known  to  exist  beyond 
the  Barren  Grounds  and  the  arctic  islands. 

The  robe  is  a  very  dark  brown,  v  hich  againsjt  the  snow 
looks  almost  black.  Beginning  at  the  top  of  the  shoul- 
ders is  a  lighter  streak  of  hair,  which  at  about  the  middle 
of  the  back  broadens  out  to  a  spot  of  dirty  grayish  white 
about  a  foot  in  width,  but  that  narrows  again  into  a  small 
strip  as  it  disappears  towards  the  rump. 

The  tail  is  short,  like  that  of  a  bear,  and  not  visible  be- 
cause of  the  great  quantity  of  long  hair  on  the  stern. 

All  over  the  body  the  hair  is  very  long,  extending  be- 
low the  belly,  and  to  a  greater  length  (from  fifteen  to 
twenty  inches  about)  on  the  hind-quarters  and  under  the 
throat  and  chest,  where  it  hangs  almost  like  the  mane  of 
a  horse.  At  the  root  of  this  hair  grows  a  coat  of  mouse- 
gray  wool  of  the  finest  texture,  which  protects  the  animal 
in  winter  and  is  shed  in  summer. 

There  seems  a  decided  tendency  to  a  hump,  which 
is  accentuated  by  the    longish,  stififish   hair  that  stands 


ql 


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1- 


228       ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO  THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 

erect  at  all  times  over  the  shoulders  and  the  base  of  the 
neck. 

The  bones  of  the  musk-ox  are  massive. 
The  legs  have  no  wool  covering  beneath  the  hair,  and 
are  very  large    and   not   long,  though   not   so   short   as 

they  appear  because  of  the  hair 
reaching  nearly  to  the  l-nees 
and  to  the  hocks. 

The  hoofs  ?.re  large,  with 
curved  toes,  and  somewhat  con- 
caved beneath,  like  the  caribou, 
which  enables  them  to  climb 
the  rocky  ridges  with  great  fa- 
cility and  to  scrape  away  the 
snow  in  their  search  for  lichen 
and  moss.  For  this  purpose 
they  use  also  their  horns,  which 
are  admirably  hooked  for  the 
work. 

The  growth  of  horns  in  both 
bulls  and  cows  is  rather  in- 
teresting. They  begin  by  a 
straight  shoot  out  from  the 
side  of  the  head,  exactly  like  domestic  cattle,  and  for  the 
first  year  it  is  impossible  to  tell  the  sex  by  their  heads 
alone.  In  the  second  year  the  bull  horn  is  a  little  whiter 
than  the  cow,  and  the  latter  begins  to  show  a  downward 
bend.  The  cow's  horns  are  about  fully  developed  at  the 
third  year,  while  the  bull's  are  just  beginning  to  spread  at 
the  base.  This  enlargement  at  the  base  extends  towards 
the  centre  of  the  forehead,  meeting  in  the  median  line, 
and  showing  between  the  horns  a  little  of  the  short, 
curly,  grayish  hair  which  sprinkles  the  entire  forehead  of 
the  two-year-old  musk-ox,  but  is  seen  only  at  this  crevice 


MUSK-OX    HOOF — FRONT  VIEW 


THE   MUSK-OX  AF    HOME 


229 


in  the  aged.  In  its  sixth  year  and  thereafter  this  crevice 
opens,  so  that  in  an  old  bull  it  is  from  an  inch  to  an  inch 
and  a  half. 

In  the  cow  this  crevice  opens  by  age  also,  and  to  even 
a  greater  extent  than  in  the  bull.  The  head  of  the  two- 
year-old  musk-ox  bull  looks  very  much  like  that  of  the 
two-year-old  wood-bison  cow  I  saw.  The  foreheads  of 
both  are  sprinkled  with  short,  curly,  grayish  hair,  only 
that  of  the  musk-ox  is  whiter.  The  hair  on  the  forehead 
of  aged  musk  cattle  is  straight,  rather  long,  and  very  dark 
— nearly  black. 

Both  the  musk  bull  and  cow  horns  darken  as  they  reach 
their  full  development,  until  from  the  tip  for  six  or  eight 
inches  towards  the  base  the 
horn  approaches  black.  But 
after  their  full  development, 
and  as  the  animals  age,  this  ex- 
treme darkness  disappears,  un- 
til finally  in  a  very  old  animal 
of  either  sex  there  will  be  but 
a  tip  of  black  on  the  very  point 
of  the  horn.  It  is  by  the  ex- 
tent of  this  black  on  the  point 
of  the  horn  that  the  Indians 
reckon  the  musk-ox's  age. 

In  both  bull  and  cow  as  the 
crevice  widens  the  base  of  the 
boss  on  either  side  thickens, 
until  in  the  bull  it  reaches  a 
depth  of  horn  at  least  three 
inches,  though    in  the   cow  will  not  exceed  two. 

The  horn  of  the  boss  is  corrugated,  but  as  it  bends  at 
the  side  of  the  head  over  the  eye  the  roughness  begins  to 
disappear,  until  about  the  middle  of  the  horn  it  attains 


MLSK  ox   HOOK — BOTTOM  VIKW 


If 

■  '.I 

■I 


\k 


230       ON    SNOW- SHOES    TO   THE    BARREN    GROUNDS 

absolute  smoothness,  which  extends  to  the  very  points. 
The  horns  of  an  aged  bull  of  course  vary  in  size,  very 
much  as  do  the  horns  of  all  other  animals,  but  the  differ- 
ence is  chiefly  noticeable  in  the  spread  of  the  boss,  thick- 
ness of  horn  at  the  median  line,  and  width  of  crevice. 


TWn-YKAR-OI.I)    MfSK-OX    III'I.I. 


The  largest  head  I  killed  and  brought  out  measures 
from  top  to  bottom  of  the  boss  at  the  median  line  ich^ 
inches,  while  the  length  of  horn  from  median  line  to  point 
measures  27-^;  width  of  crevice,  i  J  inches;  thickness  of  horn 
at  crevice,  3^  inches.  This,  the  Indians  said,  was  an  unus- 
ually large  one,  and  certainly  the  crevice  at  the  base  was 
wider  than  in  any  other  bull  I  saw  of  the  forty  musk- 
oxen  we  killed  on  the  trip. 

In  the  cow  the  width  of  the  boss  does  not  vary  ver\- 
much,  and  would  average  less  than  half  of  the  width  of 


THE    MUSK-OX   AT    HOMK 


231 


that  of  the  average  bull.  The  boss  does  not  grow  out  of 
the  skull,  nor  is  it  a  part  of  it,  like  the  horn,  but  is  separated 
from  it  by  a  layer  of  something  like  gristle  that  is  a  good 
half-inch  thick. 

Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  the  only  vulnerable  spot  in 
the  musk-ox  head  is  at  the  crevice.  I  do  not  from  actual 
experience  know  a  bullet  would  penetrate  the  skull  at 
that  point,  but  my  observations  in  cutting  up  a  head  to 
study  its  formation  rather  convinced  me  it  would. 

The  flesh  of  the  musk-ox  is  coarse  and  exceedingly 
tough  and  unpleasant  to  eat,  both  from  the  difficulty  of 
chewing  it  as  well  as  from  its  rank  flavor.  In  taste  it  does 
not  resemble  that  of  any  other  wild  animal,  though  it  may 
be  said  to  approach  nearest  probably  that  of  the  moose  in 
spring.  The  marrow  is  very  much  coarser  than  that  of 
the  caribou,  and  has  no  such  delicate  flavor  to  commend  it. 

The  cow  flesh  has  much  less  of  the  musk  taint,  and  in 
the  yearling  it  is  scarcely  perceptible,  but  the  older  tiie 
bull  the  stronger  the  odor. 

On  the  first  insertion  of  your  knife  into  the  ox  for  the 
purpose  of  skinning  him  the  first  faint  odor  of  musk  that 
greets  you  is  not  displeasing,  but  as  you  continue  it  be- 
comes exceedingly  obnoxious.  Nor  does  it  seem  to  be 
secreted  in  a  special  gland,  but  rather  to  permeate  the 
entire  flesh.  I  found  the  musk-ox  robe  the  hardest  in  my 
experience  to  remove.  Its  hide  is  very  thick,  and  in  the 
excessive  cold  in  which  one  is  obliged  to  work  the  task 
becomes  herculean. 

The  cows  calf  (never  more  than  one  at  a  time)  in  June, 
and  in  the  spring  hunts  of  the  Indians  the  unborn  musk- 
ox  is  a  twofold  luxury  to  them.  Its  flesh  is  eaten  like  the 
unborn  caribou,  and  its  hide  taken  to  the  fort  for  trade. 
The  unborn  musk-ox  hide  is  of  the  deepest  brown  im- 
aginable, with    a  very  fine,  soft   fur  that   would    average 


Ki 


:f 


232       ON    SNOW-SHOES   TO   THE    lUKKEX    GROUNDS 

probably  about  from  one-half  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch 
in  length.  A  few  of  these  skins  (through  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company)  find  their  way  to  the  civiHzed  marts.  Most  of 
them,  however,  are  used  for  trimming  caribou-skin  capotes 
and  for  making  moccasins  which  are  invaluable  (fur  side 
in  and  next  the  skin^  in  Barren  Ground  travel. 

Considering  its  build,  the  musk-ox  is  a  very  fast  runner, 
and  goes  over  the  rocky  ridges  at  a  pace  and  ease  that  are 
remarkable.  They  run  bunched,  rarely  single  file,  and  for 
the  first  several  miles  they  are  scared  they  will  go  at  a 
pace  that  rivals  that  of  the  dogs.  After  a  few  miles  of 
running,  however,  they  settle  down  to  a  steady  gallop, 
which,  although  heart-brcpking  to  the  following  snow-shoe 
runner,  gives  the  dogs  an  even  chance  at  gaining  on  them. 
So  soon  as  the  dogs  are  at  their  heels  the  musk-oxen  come 
to  bay,  and,  forming  a  circle  around  the  calves,  with  the 
rumps  in,  they  present  their  formidable  heads  to  the 
front.  If  there  are  only  two  or  three  of  them  they  make 
the  same  formation.  I  have  seen  two  when  stopped  stand 
rump  to  rump,  and  a  solitary  one  back  up  against  a  rock. 
They  always  face  the  enemy.  Here  they  will  stand  with 
heads  lowered,  making  an  occasional  lunge  forward,  as 
though  to  hook  the  dog,  but  never  breaking  the  circle. 
So  long  as  the  dogs  bark  at  their  heads  they  will  stand 
until  the  very  last  one  is  shot  down,  but  the  instant  the 
dogs  relax  their  vigilance,  especially  if  they  are  few  in 
number,  the  musk-oxen  will  start  on. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  generality  of  Indian  dogs 
are  not  very  valuable  aids  in  musk-ox  hunting.  Theirs  is 
a  craven  nature,  and  but  for  the  urgency  imparted  by  the 
pangs  of  hunger  they  would  be  of  little  use  in  bringing 
the  musk  cattle  to  bay. 

In  attack,  dogs  evince  a  disposition  decidedly  gregarious. 
Overtaking  a  herd  of  flying  musk  cattle,  they  are  pretty 


4 


THE   MUSK-OX   AT    HOME 


233 


^ 


apt,  for  instance,  to  devote  all  their  attention  to  one  or 
two  of  the  stragglers,  and  surround  them  when  they  come 
to  bay,  while  the  rest  of  the  musk-oxen  go  on  unmolested. 
Should  the  aogs  come  from  different  points  of  attack  and 
stop  a  herd  in  two  or  three  small  bands,  unless  the  Indians 
come  up  very  shortly  the  chances  are  that  they  will  leave 
their  respective  herds  and  gather  around  the  one  held  by 
the  greatest  number  of  dogs. 

A  pack  of  well -trained  dogs  could,  and  of  course  fre- 
quently these  Indian  dogs  do,  easily  hold  the  herds  of 
musk-oxen  intact,  and  under  such  circumstances  the  kill- 
ing becomes  as  the  slaughter  of  domestic  cattle  in  a  pen. 
Were  dogs  so  trustful,  the  only  excitement  of  musk-ox 
hunting  would  be  the  running  to  where  they  were  viewed. 

Occasionally  a  painfully  wounded  ox  may  break  the 
circle  and  stampede  the  herd,  and  a  herd  when  stampeded 
is  hard  to  hold  again,  because  the  dogs  are  difficult  to 
manage  in  concerted  attack;  but  such  an  occurrence  is 
very  rare. 

The  musk-ox  usually  stops  when  wounded,  and  shows 
little  inclination  to  go  on  ;  and,  as  a  rule,  they  will  stand 
until  the  last  one  has  been  killed,  narrowing  their  circle  as 
their  numbers  diminish. 

Despite  the  general  belief  of  the  Indians,  I  saw  no  in- 
stance where  a  musk-ox  showed  inclination  to  charge,  and 
in  one  of  the  herds  we  stopped  I  could  very  easily  '^ave 
captured  a  yearling  calf;  in  fact,  I  took  a  photograph  of 
one  while  it  was  backed  up  against  its  dead  mother,  and 
subsequently  had  hold  of  it  while  it  stood  at  bay  before 
the  dogs. 


^f: 


'•.^ 


M?^: 


I 


i' 


XXI 


BARREN   GROUND   CAKIHOU 

The  Barren  Ground  caribou  is  the  mainstay  of  the 
Northland  Indian.  It  is  his  food,  clothing,  and  means  of 
trade.  Without  it  his  miserable  existence  would  be  im- 
possible. From  its  hide  are  made  the  capotes  worn  by 
every  man,  woman,  and  child,  and  tanned  of  its  hair  it 
furnishes  him  with  mittens,  moccasins,  and  the  babiclic 
with  which  he  laces  his  snow-shoes  and  binds  his  sledge- 
loads.  Whatever  he  has  of  flesh,  hide,  or  babichc  over  and 
above  his  own  needs  he  trades  to  the  company.  No  part 
of  the  caribou  is  wasted,  except  perhaps  the  hoofs  and 
antlers,  and  even  the  latter  at  times  are  used  for  knife- 
handles. 

The  stomach  and  its  undigested  contents,  mixed  with 
blood  and  the  liver  torn  into  shreds,  make  one  of  the  Ind- 
ian's most  savory  puddings.  The  intestines  in  the  Bar- 
ren Grounds  keep  him  from  starvation  when  it  is  necessary 
to  give  the  meat  to  the  dogs,  and  in  his  lodge,  boiled,  are 
one  of  his  most  toothsome  portions.  The  marrow  is  his 
rarest  tidbit,  and  the  eyes,  ears,  and  tongue  are  all  delica- 
cies. In  Tact,  from  the  tongue  to  the  organs  of  genera- 
tion there  is  not  a  part  of  the  caribou  that  does  not  fur- 
nish food  to  the  Indian. 

In  general  appearance  the  Barren  Ground  caribou  is 
very  like  the  woodland  caribou  ;  the  difference  between 
them  being  in  the  lesser  bulk  and  heitiht  and  lighter  color, 


^ 

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^^H 

1 

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of 

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it 

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9! 

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V' 


^tl-H' 


^U.*^ 


BARREN  GROUND  CARIBOU 


237 


and  in  the  more  sweeping  curve  of  antlers  in  the  Barren 
Ground  species. 

The  average  weight  of  the  full-grown  Barren  Ground 
caribou  bull  I  should  say  would  be  somewhere  between 
1 50  and  200  pounds,  possibly  a  little  less — of  course  I  had 
no  scales — whereas  the  woodland  bull  would  probably  av- 
erage about  100  pounds 
heavier.  The  same  rel- 
ative difference  would 
be  evident  in  the  cows 
of  both  species. 

The  difference  in  col- 
or is  especially  notice- 
able in  the  young  and 
in  the  female,  which  are 
very  light,  almost  a  yel- 
lowish white,  in  the 
Barren  Grounds.  James 
McKinley,of  Fort  Smith, 
once  killed  an  albino 
Barren  Ground  cow. 

The  woodland  is  much 
darker  in  color,  espe- 
cially in  the  markings 
on  the  neck  and  belly. 

The  antlers  of  the  Barren  Ground  caribou  are  longer, 
slenderer,  and  curve  back  over  the  shoulders  in  a  longer 
sweep  than  the  woodland  caribou.  They  are  not  so  heavy 
in  beam,  nor  are  the  palmations  so  large. 

The  hoofs  of  both  animals  seem  to  be  about  the  same, 
as  far  as  I  could  judge,  and  very  much  concaved,  and  with 
their  sharp  knife-like  edges  are  peculiarly  adapted  for  run- 
ning in  the  snow  or  on  the  lakes.  They  are  the  only 
animal  in  existence,  I   believe,  whose  back  or  accessory 


Or.Mll 


HEAD  OF   WOOni-AND   CARIBOU 


m^ 


■J' 


1 


238       ox   SNOWSIIOKS   TO    TIIK    HAKKKN'    CROUNDS 

chisel -shaped  hoofs  touch    the   ground   in  walking  and 
running. 

There  seems  to  be  a  wide  difference  of  opinion  concern- 
ing these  two  animals  held  by  those  who  have  written  on 

the  subject,  and  many  of 
them,  so  far  as  my  obser- 
vations go,  are  at  fault. 
Some  naturalists  claim 
the  antlers  of  the  Barren 
Ground  caribou  are  heav- 
ier than  those  of  the  wood- 
land, but  my  assertion  is 
to  the  contrary,  and  I  am 
borne  out  by  Mr.  Warbur- 
ton  Pike  and  Mr.  Henry 
Toke  Munn,  both  of  whom 
are  experienced  hunters, 
and  spent  some  time  in 
the  Northland. 
About  the  beginning  of  March  the  female  Barren  Ground 
caribou  in  small  herds  begin  to  work  their  way  out  into 
the  Barren  Grounds,  reaching  the  arctic  coast  about  the 
last  of  June,  where  they  drop  their  young.  The  bulls  re- 
main in  the  woods  until  the  latter  part  of  April,  when  they 
too  work  out  into  the  Barrens,  and  meet  the  returniiig 
cows  about  half-way,  some  time  along  the  first  of  August. 
They  remain  together  during  September  and  October,  the 
rutting  season,  when  they  again  separate  and  move  tow- 
ards the  timber.  It  is  stated  by  some  authorities  that  the 
females  remain  in  the  Barren  Grounds  the  entire  year. 
This  is  not  true.  They  do  stay  out  longer  than  the  males, 
but  as  winter  sets  in  they  seek  the  shelter  of  the  woods. 
The  antlers  are  clear  of  their  velvet  by  the  first  of  Octo- 
ber, and  the  bulls  shed  them  in  December,  while  the  cows 


CAKIHOU  HOOK,  SHOWING  POSITION  OK 
ACCESSORY    HOOK 


MAUKKN    GKOUNI)   CAUII'.or 


!39 


hold  tlicin  until  about  the  first  part  of  Januar)-.     Two- 
year-old  bulls  and  cows  do  not  cast  their  antlers. 

The  skin  of  the  caribou  is  at  its  prime  for  the  purpose 
of  capote-niakinj;  in  the  month  of  August,  when  they  have 
shed  their  heavy  winter  coat  and  grown  their  lighter  sum- 
mer one.  In  the  early  spring  the  hair  is  too  thick  and 
heavy,  and  apt  to  break  and  fall  out,  besides  which  the 
majority  of  the  skins  are  perforated  by  the  grub  which 
have  been  laid  by  a  species  of  gadfly  on  the  caribou  the 
previous  summer. 

There  is  another  kind  of  fly  that  lays  its  eggs  in  the 
nostrils  of  the  caribou,  which  results  in  a  nest  of  grubs 
that   makes   its   life   miserable 
during  early  summer. 

Surely  the  caribou  seems  to 
be  a  much  persecuted  animal. 
It  has  many  enemies  besides 
the  Indian,  and  none  more  im- 
placable than  the  arctic  wolves, 
which  in  summer  are  constant- 
ly on  its  track.  It  has  been 
said  that  the  wolverine  attacks 
the  caribou,  but  I  failed  to 
obtain  corroborative  evidence. 
Tl.e  wolverine  is  an  animal  of 
e.xtraordinary  power  for  one  of 
its  size,  but  it  is  not  swift 
enough  to  catch  the  caribou, 
nor  has  it  the  endurance  to  fol- 
low in  a  long  chase  like  the 
wolf.      It     is    the     Northland    ^■^'^"'"''  """'••  ^'i<'\vin«  'on- 

(  AVK   AM)    SlIART    KDGES 

scavenger,  and  steals  after  the 

wounded   caribou   or   breaks  into  and  robs  the   caches. 
Probably  the  condition  of  being  fat  or  lean   makes  a 


240        ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO  THi:    HARKEN   ClUJUNDS 


4[ 


I 

.1} 


itM- 


greater  difference  in  the  taste  of  the  flesh  of  the  Barren 
Ground  caribou  than  in  that  of  any  other  animal,  and 
there  is  no  wild  meat  that  one  wearies  of  so  slowly.  In 
the  early  spring  bulls  and  cows  are  exceedingly  poor,  and 
the  flesh  is  not  very  nourishing.  But  in  August  and  Sep- 
tember they  have  become  fat,  and  the  flavor  of  the  meat  is 
really  delicious.  After  the  rutting  season  the  bulls  arc  poor 
again,  and  the  cows  arc  then  usually  sought  by  the  Indians. 
The  range  of  the  Barren  Ground  caribou  is  from  the  6oth 
degree  of  latitude  to  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  from  Hudson's 
Bay  to  the  Mackenzie  River.  This  is  speaking  very  gen- 
erally. As  a  matter  of  fact,  very  few  caribou  get  west  of 
the  Coppermine  River  or  Great  Bear  Lake,  and  though 

they  extend  eastward  to  Hud- 
son's Bay  in  great  herds,  yet 
only  straggling  numbers  are 
found  so  far  south  as  the  6oth 
degree  of  latitude. 

Fort    Resolution,  on    Great 
Slave  Lake,  which  is  the  best- 
supplied  meat  post  in  the  North 
country,  is   from    four   to    six 
days'  distance  from   the   most 
southerly  general  range  of  the 
Barren  Ground  caribou,  though 
to  the  eastward  a  few  do  get 
down  to  the  northeast  end  of 
Athabasca  Lake.     Woodlai  .1 
caribou  range,  generally 
ing,  between  the   50th  and  60th  degrees  of  latituc.       il- 
though  they  are   found  to  some  extent  in  the  extreme 
western  part  of  British  North  America  and  in  Alaska. 

By  all  accounts  there  has  been  in  recent  years  a  very 
great  decrease  in  the  number  of  Barren  Ground  caribou  in 


UNGAVA  WOMAN  S   SHOE, 

Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence, 

20  inches  long 


V:   i 


liARKKN    tlKOUNl)   CARIIIOU 


241 


' 


Hritish  North  America,  though  I  am  inclined  to  believe  it 
not  so  great  as  generally  supposed  by  the  Indians  and  the 
Hudson's  liay  Company  officers. 

The  Barren  Ground  caribou  is  very  changeful  in  its 
migrations.  The  route  it  may  pursue  to  the  Arctic  Ocean 
one  spring  may  be  a  hundred  miles  east  or  west  of  that 
followed  the  previous  year  and  that  will  be  taken  the  suc- 
ceeding year,  and  as  the  Barren  Grounds  contain  three 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  square  miles  (approximately), 
it  may  be  seen  there  is  ample  room  for  the  caribou  to 
keep  the  Indians  guessing  on  their  whereabouts. 

It  is  a  fact  that  several  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Comininy 
forts  originally  established  as  meat  posts  and  once  the 
centre  of  caribou  migration  are  now  many  days'  journey 
to  the  side  of  it,  but  I  incline  to  the  belief  that  this  is  due 
largely  to  the  caribou  being  driven  away  from  those  par- 
ticular sections. 

That  their  numbers  have  been  largely  decreased  is  un- 
doubtedly true,  for  the  annual  slaughter  visited  upon 
them  by  the  Indians  in  the  summer-time  is  as  deadly  as 
it  is  incredible. 

In  midsummer,  when  the  cows  return  from  the  Arctic 
Ocean  and  meet  the  bulls  in  the  Barren  Grounds,  they  are 
joined  by  other  herds  from  the  westward,  and  at  that 
time  the  herds  are  simply  enormous. 

Tyrcll,  when  he  made  liis  trip  through  the  southern 
part  of  the  Barren  Grounds  eastward  to  Hudson's  Bay, 
saw  herds  that  numbered  thousands.  And  Mr.  Warbur- 
ton  Pike,  in  his  summer  trip  into  the  Barrens,  was  re- 
warded by  a  sight  of  this  great  caravan  of  moving  caribou. 

It  is  at  this  time  that  the  Barren  Ground  caribou  falls  a 
victim  to  the  rapacity  of  the  Indians. 

They  are  then  moving  in  vast  herds  of  countless  num- 
bers, are  stupid  and  easily  approached,  or  turned  in  de- 
16 


ff 


!42      ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO   THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 


Hi 


a 


1;/ 


VQ 


I 

i 


1 


Ml. 

v' 


sired  directions  by  tufts  of  moss  or  rock  set  up  in  lines, 
along  which  the  Indians  lie  in  ambush,  or  driven  into 
lakes,  where  they  are  slaughtered  by  the  hundreds.  The 
waste  in  summer  of  these  food-providing  animals  of  the 
North  on  the  lakes  is  almost  incredible.  Hundreds  are 
speared  and  shot  down  merely  for  their  tongues,  their  car- 
casses being  lett  to  rot  where  they  have  fallen,  and  calves 
are  killed  for  no  other  reason  than  to  gratify  the  North- 
land Indian's  love  of  destruction.  In  winter  the  caribou's 
eyesight  is  keener  ;  they  are  separated  into  small  herds, 
and  infinitely  more  difficult  of  approach.  In  following  a 
leader  they  are  very  much  like  sheep,  and  I  saw  many  of 
them  killed  by  Indians  who  ran  to  a  point  where  a  herd 
was  passing,  and  which  continued  to  very  nearly  hold  its 
course  despite  the  proximity  of  the  enemy.  Caribou  run 
in  single  or  double  file,  and  are  very  rarely  bunched.  If, 
therefore,  the  Indians  starve  because  of  unskilled  hunting, 
it  is  only  just  retribution  for  their  improvidence  and  ra- 
pacity. It  was  a  bit  hard  on  me  that  I  happened  at 
this  particular  time  to  be  an  innocent  sufferer  in  the 
result. 

Such  wanton  destruction  must  have  had  in  a  hundred 
years  some  appreciative  effect  in  thinning  the  number  of 
caribou,  yet  it  is  noticeable  only  by  the  restricted  area  of 
range,  for  there  seems  to  be  no  diminishing  in  the  size  of 
herds  ;  at  least  the  herds  continue  so  large  it  is  impossible 
to  discover  any  lessening  in  their  numbers. 

The  passing  of  laws  to  restrict  this  slaughter  has  been 
agitated  in  the  Canadian  Legislature,  but  it  is  pretty  safe 
to  say  nothing  actually  effective  will  ever  be  accomplished, 
for  the  very  good  reason  that  it  would  be  utterly  out  of 
the  question  to  police  the  Northland,  certainly  not  the 
Barren  Grounds;  and  even  if  that  were  possible,  which  is 
really  absurd  to  even  consider,  nothing  short  of  an  army 


BARREN  GROUND  CARIBOU 


243 


:;cn 

bfe 

xl. 

of 
[he 

is 


could  keep  track  of  the  Indians  on  their  vast  barrej:  hunt- 
ing-grounds. 

These  are  the  two  animals,  then,  that  find  a  living  in  the 
desolate  wastes  of  the  Barren  Grounds,  and  the  musk-ox 
is  the  only  one  that  makes  it  his  home  from  year's  end  to 
year's   end.     There  are 
wolves    and    wolverines 
and  arctic  hares  and  arc- 
tic foxes  to  be  found  on 
the  southern  half  of  the 
Barren  Ground;;  in  win- 
ter, but   I  saw   none  of 
them  after  wc  had  gone 
five  or  six  days  into  the 
Barren  Grounds. 

The  arctic  fox  is  about 
half  the  size  of  a  good 
big  red  fox,  and  the  arc- 
tic hare  is  twice  the  size 
of  the  ordinary  "rabbit" 
(so  called,  and  incorrect- 
ly, for  "rabbits"  are  real- 
ly hares).  The  wolves 
are  large.  I  saw  only 
black  ones  and  not  very 

many  of  those.  There  is  a  Barren  Ground  bear,  so  called, 
that  is  exhibited  in  the  Smithsonian  Institute  as  coming 
from  the  Barren  Grounds,  but  I  believe  it  is  wrongly  ac- 
credited to  this  particular  section. 

A  bear  is  found  on  the  Anderson  River,  which  is  near 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  that  corresponds  to  this  one,  and 
it  is  possible  it  may  make  out  into  the  Barrens  in  the 
summer-time,  but  I  doubt  if  it  is  more  than  a  visitor,  and 
am  convinced  its  real  home  is  much  nearer  the  mountains. 


INCAVA    SIIOK, 

Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 

3  feec  long 


I 
I 

I'- 

t 

til  h 

I-  ■  *ii 

I; 


244      ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO   THE    UARREN   GROUNDS 

It  is  a  peculiar-looking  bear,  seeming  a  cross  between  the 
grizzly  and  the  polar,  and  it  has  this  peculiarity,  that  its 
hind  claws  arc  as  big  as  its  fore  claws,  while  its  head  looks 
somewhat  like  that  of  an  Eskimo  dog,  very  broad  in  the 
forehead,  with  square,  long  muzzle,  and  ears  set  on  quite 
like  the  dog's.  It  is  very  wide  at  the  shoulders,  and  its 
robe  in  color  resembles  the  grizzly. 


V'  :  ■ 


r 

llv 

I 


<%)' 


XXII 


BEYOND   TIIK  ARCTIC   CIRCLE 


On  the  morning  following  our  first  musk-ox  killing,  the 
bare  skeletons  of  the  cow  and  bull  told  what  good  use  the 
dogs  had  made  of  their  opportunity.  And  it  was  consider- 
able satisfaction  to  me  when  we  broke  camp  to  know  that 
at  least  the  dogs  had  something  to  travel  on,  even  though 
our  share  of  the  feast  had  been  very  scanty. 

We  went  to  the  musk-oxen  Seco  had  killed,  and  there, 
after  taking  the  robes,  made  a  meal  on  the  fat  and  replen- 
ished our  supply  of  dog- meat.  Then  we  took  up  our 
northward  journey  again. 

All  day  long  we  maintained  a  steady  pace,  with  the 
weather  remaining  about  as  it  had  been  the  day  before, 
except  for  a  little  more  wind  and  a  little  less  sun.  We 
had  hopes  of  following  the  tracks  of  the  remainder  of  the 
herd  Seco  had  chased  so  long  the  night  before,  but  they 
had  been  covered  by  the  drifting  snow,  and  we  had  seen 
neither  musk-ox  nor  caribou  when  we  camped  at  night. 

Another  ten  hours  of  travel  in  increasing  cold,  and  the 
sun  had  gone  down  behind  the  clouds  which  all  day  it  had 
been  vainly  endeavoring  to  dispel,  and  we  were  about  camp- 
ing, when  from  one  of  the  little  round-top  hills  we  viewed 
two  bands  of  musk-oxen.  One  of  fourteen  was  galloping 
directly  from  us  about  two  miles  off;  another  of  three 
was  about  a  mile  to  the  westward  of  the  larger  herd  and 
running  almost  due  west.     Seco,  two  other  Indians,  and 


1 


B 


% 

i 


246      ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO  THE   BARREN  GROUNDS 

myself,  with  several  dogs,  started  after  the  three,  which 
were  going  at  right  angles  to  the  course  we  had  been 
travelling,  while  the  remainder  of  the  Indians  and  dogs 
went  after  the  fourteen. 

After  we  had  run  about  a  mile  the  two  Indians  turned 
back,  and  with  them  all  the  dogs  that  had  started  with 
us  but  two. 

Seco  was  about  fifty  yards  ahead  of  me  and  going  very 
fast.  The  more  I  saw  of  this  Indian's  running  the  greater 
my  admiration  grew  for  him.  He  was 
certainly  a  good  runner,  and,  despite  my 
utmost  efforts,  and  I  was  going  well 
too,  I  found  it  impossible  to  cut  down 
his  lead. 

Both  our  dogs  had  gone  ahead,  and 
we  had  run,  I  suppose,  a  couple  of  miles 
farther,  the  musk-oxen  being  hidden 
from  us  by  intervening  ridges  for  most 
of  the  time,  when,  reaching  the  top  of 
one  of  the  ridges,  we  saw  the  dogs 
holding  the  musk-oxen  at  bay. 

Redoubling;  our  exertions,  for  I  felt 
the  two  dogs  would  not  long  hold  our 
quarry,  we  crossed  a  couple  of  small, 
rocky  ridges,  that  lay  between  us  and 
them,  and  Seco,  who  had  gained  a  little 
on  me,  got  within  about  one  hundred 
yards,  when  he  fired  both  barrels  of  his 
muzzle-loa'^er,  and  missed.  Simultane- 
ously with  .is  shooting  the  dogs  left 
the  musk-oxen,  which  started  on  again,  but  more  to  the 
southward,  and,  as  I  had  not  stopped  running,  this  put  me 
fifty  yards  nearer  them.  Another  half-mile  of  running 
brought  me  to  within  about  one  hundred  to  one  hundred 


CO-VrKON   SHOE 

(Curved  toe), 

Yukon  River, 

4  feet  long 


BEYOND  THE   ARCTIC   CIRCLE 


247 


MOCCASINS 


and  fifty  yards,  and  I  fired  twice  in  rapid  succession,  drop- 
ping one  and   stopping  a  second,  while  the  third  went 
on,  and  with  Seco  and  one  of  the  dogs  following.     The 
remaining   dog  was   already  busily 
tearing  at  the  throat  of  the  fallen 
musk-ox. 

The  wounded  bull  continued  trav- 
elling slowly  in  the  direction  the 
third  had  taken,  and  was,  I  saw,  bad- 
ly hit,  but  I  put  another  ball  in  front 
of  his  hind-quarter  and  ranging  for- 
ward, to  keep  him  from  wandering 
off  farther,  and  he  came  to  a  stand- 
still, though  he  did  not  fall. 

I  had  heard  a  deal  about  wound- 
ed musk-oxen  being  dangerous,  and  thought  this  an  ex- 
cellent opportunity  of  discovering  for  myself  whether  the 
animal  is  so  ferocious  as  the  Indians  report  him.  So  I 
drew  nearer,  to  within  probably  twenty-five  yards,  keep- 
ing, of  course,  a  close  watch  on  liis  movements  and  my 
rifle  in  readiness  in  case  of  attack. 

On  my  approach  the  bull  faced  me.  As  I  began  slowly 
circling  about  him  he  kept  turning  so  his  head  was  always 
presented  to  me.  Having  made  one  circuit  with  no  other 
demonstration  on  his  part,  I  concluded  he  had  no  inten- 
tion of  charging,  and  I  determined  experimenting  on  the 
strength  of  the  boss,  which  protects  the  entire  top  of  his 
head.  Taking  careful  sight,  I  fired.  Other  than  a  slight 
shake  of  the  head  the  bull  gave  no  evidence  of  being  hit, 
and  I  afterwards  discovered  a  small  black  spot  where  the 
bullet  had  struck  on  the  top  of  the  boss  just  at  the  side 
of  the  crevice.  Then  to  see  if  the  brain  could  be  reached 
by  penetrating  the  skull  just  at  the  lower  edge  of  the 
boss,  I  fired  a  second  time,  but  though  my  bullet  crashed 


248       ON    SNOW-SHOES   TO  THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 


»i5    1 1 


ki   \ 


s 


I'.    \ 


through  his  forehead  and  blood  gushed  out  of  his  mouth 
and  nostrils,  I  had  evidently  not  reached  the  brain,  as  he 
still  stood  on  his  feet.  I  confess  it  seemed  anything  but 
sport  to  stand  there  firing  at  a  wounded  animal  that  could 
not  escape,  and  I  had  no  heart  for  further  experiments.  I 
regret  now  I  did  not  try  the  effect  of  a  bullet  sent  directly 
into  the  crevice,  for  my  subsequent  dissection  of  a  musk-ox 
head  rather  convinced  me  the  brain  could  be  reached  if 
a  bullet  was  sent  home  exactly  on  this  spot. 

Having  satisfied  myself  that  the  boss  was  not  to  be  pene- 
trated, I  began  another  circle  with  the  idea  of  putting  the 
ox  out  of  misery  by  a  final  ball  through  his  heart.  He 
kept  turning,  always  facing  me,  but  other  than  an  occa- 
sional stamp  of  his  fore-foot  like  a  sheep  gave  no  indica- 
tion whatever  of  rage  or  intended  attack.  In  the  midst 
of  this  performance  there  arose  much  shouting  on  the  hill 
to  my  left,  where  I  discovered  the  two  Indians  who  had 
started  with  Seco  and  me  waving  their  arms  in  apparently 
great  perturbation  of  mind.  Why,  of  course  I  did  not 
know,  but  afterwards  learned  the  cause  of  their  excitement 
to  be  what  they  considered  my  imminent  danger,  and  that 
they  were  calling  on  me  to  come  away. 

I  should  probably  have  been  obliged  to  circle  about 
that  musk-ox  until  he  dropped  from  sheer  loss  of  blood, 
but  the  dog,  unable  to  make  any  impression  on  the  fallen 
musk-ox,  left  that  and  came  over  to  the  live  one,  and  as  he 
ran  up  barking  the  bull  turned  his  attention  to  him,  which 
gave  me  the  desired  opportunity,  and  down  he  went, 
making  a  couple  of  ineffectual  attempts  to  get  on  his  feet 
again  before  he  expired. 

I  noted  in  my  hunting,  by-the-way,  that  once  a  musk-ox 
is  down  it  seems  impossible  for  him  to  get  on  his  feet 
again.  I  saw  a  number  make  the  attempt,  but  none  suc- 
ceed. 


BEYOND   THE   ARCTIC   CIRCLE 


249 


He  had  stood  up  fully  fifteen  minutes,  and  had  my  cam- 
era  been  at  hand,  instead  of  in  the  sledge  several  miles 
away,  I  could  have  secured  a  splendid  photograph.  But 
one  cannot  carry  both  rifle  and  camera  and  chase  musk- 
oxen,  and  I  wished  to  finish  with  my  .rifle  before  I  began 
with  my  camera. 

Afterwards,  when  going  back  to  the  sledges,  it  occurred 
to  me  that  if  the  bull  had  charged  my  situation  would 


''^rmv,^'^ 


■^  (,  H  -p  1  , 

n  •  I  I  1. 
>  I  t  J  J ' 


'■U:^ 


WM.I.OW  BASKET  USED   RY   INDIANS   BEFORE   HUDSON  S    BAY  COMPANY  TOOK 

IN    COPPER    KETTLES 


have  been  rather  uncomfortable,  because  they  do  not  low- 
er their  heads  in  running,  and  it  would  have  been  no  easy 
matter  to  get  in  a  shot  over  his  head  into  the  shoulder, 
while  to  put  a  bullet  fairly  into  that  crevice,  even  assum- 
ing it  to  be  fatal,  would  have  been  very  difficult. 

We  skinned    those  two  bulls,  and  went  back   to  the 
sledges,  where,  rolled  in  our  robes,  we  lay  until  ten  o'clock, 


T 


250       ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO   THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 


It 


ki 


when  all  the  Indians  but  one  had  returned  to  report  the 
killing  of  eleven  musk-oxen.  It  had  grown  so  much  colder 
after  sunset  I  was  curious  to  see  what  the  thermometer 
registered,  but  after  looking  I  discovered  it  broken,  un- 
doubtedly by  the  pounding  of  the  sledge  in  the  last  few 
days'  rough  going.  Thereafter  I  had  not  the  poor  gratifi- 
cation of  knowing  just  how  low  the  mercury,  or,  rather, 
spirit  (for,  of  course,  it  was  a  spirit  thermometer),  fell  on 
some  of  the  fearful  days  we  had  subsequently.  From 
signs  I  learned  the  missing  Indian  (Seeyah)  had  discov- 
ered caribou  tracks,  and  promptly  abandoned  the  musk- 
ox  trail. 

While  we  made  the  little  fire  and  boiled  the  tea  we  fired 
our  guns  in  signal  at  intervals  of  probably  ten  minutes, 
but  there  was  no  response,  and  when  we  had  finally  set- 
tled ourselves  for  the  night  Seeyah  was  still  wandering  in 
the  bitter  cold.  And  what  a  night  that  was !  First  snow, 
afterwards  sleet,  and  all  the  time  a  perfect  hurricane  of 
the  wind  that  knows  no  cessation  in  the  Barren  Grounds. 
Sleep  was  impossible.  Our  lodge  was  blown  full  of  snow, 
burying  us  and  the  dogs  in  its  driftings,  and  was  finally 
blown  down  altogether,  and  would  have  been  blown  away 
had  we  not  held  on  to  it. 

Next  morning  we  righted  the  lodge  and  shovelled  out 
the  snow  with  our  snow-shoes,  and  then  went  our  several 
ways  to  bring  in  the  robes  of  the  previous  day's  killing.  I 
remember  I  had  quite  a  task  finding  my  musk-oxen,  for 
the  snow-shoe  prints  of  the  day  before  had  been  entirely 
obliterated  by  the  night's  storm.  However,  I  did  find 
them  about  three  miles  away,  and  a  sorry  sight  they  were 
to  me,  for  the  dogs  had  been  at  the  throats  and  heads  dur- 
ing the  night,  and  torn  one  so  badly  that  it  was  useless 
as  a  specimen.  The  other  one  was  not  so  damaged,  and  I 
took  it  back  to  camp. 


Bi     ! 


UEYOND   THE   ARCTIC  CIRCLE 


aSi 


As  I  drew  near  the  lodge  I  saw  a  living  thing  quite  close 
to  it,  moving  slowly,  and  evidently  with  great  difficulty.  It 
was  a  few  appreciable  moments  before  I  discovered  it  to 
be  the  lost  Seeyah.  The  Indians  had  evidently  given  him 
up  as  lost  or  forgotten  him,  as  not  a  signal  had  been  fired  in 
the  morning.  Poor  fellow,  he  was  a  miserable  looking  ob- 
ject, coated  with  ice  from  head  to  foot,  and  barely  able  to 
crawl. 

None  of  the  other  Indians  had  returned  from  the  musk- 
ox  skinning,  so  I  took  it  upon  myself  to  care  for  him.  I 
got  out  my  pint  of  brandy,  which,  by-the-way,  was  frozen, 
not  solidly,  but  so  that  it  had  the  appearance  of  slush  just 
at  the  point  of  congelation,  and  a  cup  of  this  I  poured 
down  his  throat.  Then  I  indulged  in  the  extravagance  of 
making  a  little  fire  to  boil  some  tea,  and  ransacked  the 
sledges  or  whatever  there  was  to  eat.  I  put  before  him 
all  the  intestines  and  pieces  of  fat  I  could  find,  and  when 
he  had  thawed  out  sufficiently  to  move  easily  he  fell  upon 
them  like  a  famishing  beast.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  ate 
steadily  until  he  had  devoured  the  last  scrap,  and  I  may 
say,  incidentally,  depleted  our  larder. 

However,  I  felt  there  would  be  enough  from  the  musk- 
ox  killing  for  the  dogs  and  ourselves,  and  was  therefore 
reckless  with  provisions. 

After  a  time  the  Indians  returned  with  their  robes  and 
a  sledge-load  of  meat  for  the  dogs,  and  intestines  and  fat 
for  ourselves,  all  of  which  was  thrown  inside  the  lodge. 
And  such  a  looking  place !  more  nearly  like  a  slaughter- 
pen  than  a  house  of  man.  The  intestines  were  hung  from 
the  lodge-poles,  so  that  you  could  not  see  from  one  side 
of  the  lodge  to  the  other,  and  when  you  passed  out  you 
crawled  on  hands  and  knees  under  this  intestinal  net- 
work and  over  the  bloody  flesh  and  hearts  and  livers 
and  unborn  calves  that  completely  covered  the  ground. 


Mi' 


h 


m  : 


IL   t 


KSKIMO    SHOE, 
i8  indies  long,  Hudson's  Stmit 


252        ON  SNOW-SHOES  TO  THE  BARREN  GROUNDS 

While  the  mess  was  being  stowed  .iway,  two  Indians, 
armed  with  sticks  of  fire-wood,  guarded  the  entrance  of 
the  lodge  against  the  dogs,  and  several  of  us  from  the 
inside  plied  our  whip-stocks  on  those  dogs  that  in  their 

ravenous  hunger  threw  them- 
selves on  the  lodge  from  with- 
out, in  a  mad  effort  to  rearh 
the  meat  and  offal  within. 

Three  days  more  we  head- 
ed northward  in  the  severest 
weather  yet  encountered.  It 
snowed  practically  all  the  time, 
and  the  wind  whistled  dolorous- 
ly and  by  reason  of  its  own  ve- 
locity, for  of  course  there  was 
not  a  blessed  twig  or  brush  to 
prompt  its  shrill  shrieking.  The  country  seemed  a  little 
flatter,  with  great  stretches  rolling  away  into  undula- 
tions of  more  or  less  prominence,  and  rather  larger  lakes 
and  fewer  rocky  ridges  than  we  had  seen.  We  made 
long  days,  starting  at  sunrise  and  not  camping  until 
about  half -past  seven.  We  saw  some  caribou,  but  got 
only  two.  And  the  days  wore  on  monotonously,  and  try- 
ingly,  too,  for  even  greater  than  the  pangs  of  hunger  in 
my  stomach  was  the  constant  dread  in  my  mind  that 
the  Indians  would  become  disheartened  over  the  difficul- 
ties we  were  facing  and  turn  back.  And  that  would 
mean  failure  of  my  long,  weary  journey.  So,  when  we 
stopped  for  a  pipe,  and  threw  ourselves  to  the  leeward 
of  our  sledges  for  protection  from  the  storms,  I  sang  and 
tried  to  exhibit  an  indifference  I  did  not  feel  to  the 
obstacles  besetting  our  progress.  At  night,  when  we 
camped,  I  sang  some  more,  and  tried  to  whistle,  hop- 
ing by  my  actions  to  shame  the  Indians  from  showing 


RKYONO   THK    ARCTIC   CIRCLE 


'53 


failing  courage.  How  little  I  felt  like  singing  may  be 
imagined. 

Night  was  indeed  trying.  We  always  camped  on  top 
of  a  hill,  and  pitched  the  lodge  on  the  highest  point  of 
that  hill,  so  as  not  to  miss  any  of  the  force  of  the  arctic 
zephyrs,  but  really.  I  believe,  that  the  scouts  sent  out 
every  afternoon  hunting  caribou  might  direct  their  steps 
to  the  lodge. 

In  camping  there  was  an  invariable  argument  as  to  the 
best  of  several  different  locations,  and  when  a  site  had 
been  finally  determined  the  pitching  of  the  lodge  gave 
further  excuse  for  discussion  that  to  me  was  maddening, 

A  lodge,  or  tepee,  as  some  call  it,  is  taken  into  the  Bar- 
ren Grounds  more  to  protect  the  fire  than  the  men.  The 
high  wind  that  blows  continuously  makes  impossible  the 
building  of  a  fire  from  the  little  kindling  into  which  the 
sticks  are  split,  and  even  were  a  blaze  started,  the  gale 
would  not  only  quickly  kill  the  flame,  but  sweep  away  the 
wood. 

When  a  camping- ground  has  been  chosen,  a  circle  is 
made  of  the  sledges,  the  three  lodge-poles  (tied  together 
at  the  top)  that  form  the  triangle  are  stuck  into  the  packs 
to  give  firm  footing,  and  the  remaining  poles  placed  so  as 
to  make  a  cone  of  the  triangle.  "Then  the  caribou- skin, 
revealing  countless  holes  (about  the  size  of  a  lead-pencil) 
the  grubs  have  made,  is  stretched  over  the  poles  and  out- 
side of  the  circle  of  sledges.  The  lodge  is  set  very  low, 
so  low  that  standing  in  the  centre  your  head  and  shoul- 
ders will  be  out  in  the  open. 

Blocks  of  snow  are  then  cut  and  piled  around  the 
sledges  and  on  top  of  the  caribou-skin,  to  keep  it  from 
being  lifted  by  the  wind.  When  this  is  completed,  four 
to  five  of  the  sticks  are  taken  from  the  sledges  equally,  so 
as  to  even  the  loads,  and  these  are  split  into  kindling- 


T^ 


254      ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO  THE  BARREN  GROUNDS 


wood  with  :i  b\<^  knife,  which  is  at  once  the  musk-ox 
hunting-knife  and  the  IJanen  (iround  axe  combined.  A 
shorter  pole  is  lashed  over  the  fire  from  side  to  side  of  the 
tepee  on  to  the  lodge-poles,  and  from  this,  by  a  piece  of 
babiche  with  a  forked  stick  tied  to  its  end,  arc  hung  the 
kettles. 

To  give  an  idea  of  the  size  of  the  fire,  I  may  add  that 
by  the  time  the  snow  has  been  melted  and  the  water  has 
come  to  a  boil  the  fire  has  burned  itself  out. 
While  it  blazes  and  the  tea  is  making,  every 
one  squats  around,  gazing  wistfully  at  the 
flame  and  persuading  himself  he  is  being 
warmed;  but  as  an  actual  fact  no  heat  from 
the  fire  can  be  felt  by  the  bared  hand  two  feet 
away. 

Tea  made  and  drunk,  you  roll  yourself  in 
your  rcbes,  lying  on  your  side,  with  your  feet 
towards  where  the  fire  was  and  head  against 
your  sledge.  With  your  knees  into  some  Ind- 
ian's back,  and  some  Indian's  knees  into  your 
back,  and  your  snow-shoes  under  your  head, 
away  from  the  dogs,  that  would  cat  the  lacing 
and  strings,  you  compose  yourself  for  sleej) ; 
KNiFK  AND    ^ut  you  do  not  get  it— at  least,  not  for  a  time. 

DAKUEN  _  111  I,       ,  ,.  , 

bo  soon  as  everybody  has  rolled  up  for  the 


Ml  SK-OX 
IIUNIINC- 


GROL'ND 
AXE 


'i' 


night,  the  dogs,  that  have  been  fighting  just 
without  the  lodge,  and  kept  away  only  by  the 
whips  of  the  Indians  sitting  nearest  the  opening,  pour  in 
and  continue  their  fights  over  the  prostrate  forms  of  the 
cold-storage  tramps.  Fifteen  minutes  of  alternate  fight- 
ing and  searching  for  something  to  eat,  and  the  dogs  be- 
come comparatively  settled  for  the  night  around  and  on 
top  of  the  alleged  sleepers. 

It  is  rather  comforting  than  otherwise  to  have  a  dog 


og 


r 
o 


o 
3 
w 

o 


r 

M 


n 


' 


BEYOND  THE  ARCTIC  CIRCLE 


257 


curl  up  at  your  feet,  but  when  you  have  one  on  top  of 
your  head,  a  second  or  maybe  a  third  on  your  body,  and 
yet  another  one  on  your  feet,  the  comfort  becomes  one  of 
fancy  rather  than  of  fact.  You  are  wrapped  so  tightly  in 
your  robes  you  cannot  move  your  arms  or  legs  in  an  at- 
tempt to  displace  the  dogs,  and  you  do  not  attempt  to  sit 
up  because  that  will  open  your  blankets  to  the  cold,  and, 
moreover,  so  soon  as  you  lay  down  again  those  dogs  or 
some  others  would  be  on  top  of  you;  so  you  lie  there  and 
try  to  sleep,  while  j'our  bones  ache  and  you  wonder  how 
much  inducement  would  take  }'ou  on  another  Barren 
Ground  trip. 

The  next  day  opened  the  bitterest  of  all.  A  northeast 
wind  cut  our  faces  as  with  a  knife.  It  was  utterly  im- 
possible to  keep  from  shivering  even  in  travelling.  I  can- 
not sufficiently  describe  how  cold  it  was,  and  I  do  not 
know,  since  my  thermometer  was  broken.  When  we 
stopped  the  dogs  lifted  their  feet  from  the  hard -packed 
snow  as  though  it  burned  them,  and  your  breath  came 
and  went  in  stinging  gasps. 

It  was  deadly  travelling ;  nothing  to  break  the  fearful 
blast  that  drove  into  our  faces  with  arctic  fury.  All  day 
long  we  bent  our  heads  to  it,  and  I  fell  to  comparing  my- 
self with  the  Wandering  Jew,  going  on  and  on,  and  doubt- 
ing if  there  really  were  to  come  an  end  to  it  all,  and  I 
should  sec  the  sun  shine  and  hear  the  birds  sing. 

I  knew  we  were  now  about  ten  days  from  the  "  last 
wood ;"  that  we  could  go  north  not  more  than  a  day  or 
two  longer,  as  our  sticks  would  not  hold  out,  and  I  suf- 
fered mental  torture  a.-,  I  thought  of  the  possibility  of  not 
seeing  any  more  musk-oxen.  I  thought  of  Munn's  unre- 
warded trip  into  the  Barrens  ;  of  the  many  parties  of  hunt- 
ing Indians  that  had  seen  only  cows ;  and  I  wondered  if 
all  \\\y  tramping  was  to  result  similarly.     I  had  killed  one 

»7 


}'•■■ 

J' 

m 

f- 

1" 

f 

.V"4''. 

r 

If 

mm 

it 
1 , 

S' 

B    f. 'J 

1'  ^ 

1^ 

i^' '' 

■.^  1 

'i 

fc^  ■ 

l^i. 

"v.- 


UN 


B'l 


fei 


*1 ' 


258       ox    SNOW- SHOES    TO   THE    15ARREN   GROUNDS 

COW  and  two  bulls,  but  had  only  one  bull  head  to  show  for 
my  work,  and  that  one  somewhat  imperfect. 

Following  Seco,  who  was  acting  as  foregoer,  our  seven 
dog  trains  stretched  out  in  a  long,  plodding  column.  I 
was  the  fourth  in  the  procession,  toiling  along,  head  down, 
and  mind  busy  casting  up  the  prospects.  Suddenly  my 
dogs  stopped,  and  I  stumbled  over  the  tail  of  my  sledge 
to  discover  the  others  in  front  had  stopped,  and  we  had 
bunched  up  like  runaway  freight-cars  brought  to  a  sudden 
and  full  stop.  The  Indians  were  loosening  their  dogs,  and 
my  heart  leaped  within  me  and  I  forgot  the  storm  and  my 
despair,  for  here  I  was  to  have  another  chance  at  getting 
the  two  heads  I  still  wanted,  and  I  prayed  the  herd  sight- 
ed might  prove  to  contain  at  least  that  many  bulls. 

We  had  been  travelling  up  a  long,  narrow  hollow  be- 
tween two  ridges,  and  Seco,  who  was  several  hundred 
yards  ahead  of  the  leading  sledge,  had  come  on  to  tlie 
herd  of  musk-oxen  before  they  discovered  him,  and  then 
he  had  rushed  back  to  stop  the  dogs. 

Fortunately  the  storm  was  so  fierce  the  dogs  could  not 
see  the  musk-oxen.  As  we  advanced  cautiously  we  came 
suddenly  to  where  the  snow  was  trampled  and  several 
tr  cks  led  off  to  the  east.  Evidently  the  musk-oxen  had 
moved  on,  but  not  because  of  us.  as  the  dogs  had  uttered 
not  a  whimper,  and  the  wind  was  blowing  strongly  from 
the  north;.dst  and  we  were  travelling  almost  due  east. 

P'oUowing  the  signs,  we  set  off  at  a  pretty  brisk  run.  and 
this  time  I  was  up  with  Se':o  and  determined  to  keep 
up  with  him  until  I  dropped  in  my  tracks,  for  I  knew  if 
we  reached  musk-oxen  at  all  Seco  would  be  there  first, 
and  I  remembered  I  wanted  two  bulls  and  might  not  have 
another  opportunity. 

We  ran  for  about  a  mile,  and  then  suddenly  saw  a  few 
hundred  yards  ahead  ten  musk-oxen,  standing  with  their 


BliYOXl)   THE    ARCTIC    CIRCLE 


^59 


;ind 
;cp 
if 
rst, 
ave 

cw 
icir 


rumps  to  the  north,  weathering  the  jtorm.  They  did  not 
see  us,  but  the  dogs  had  d'-.'^'  ered  them  and  set  up  a 
yelping  which  the  musk-oxen  heard,  and,  turning  instant- 
ly, started  off  on  a  run.  They  separated,  some  going 
straight  ahead,  and  others  turning  sharp  to  the  south  over 
a  ridge. 

Seco  went  on  ahead,  but  I  turned  southward  and  went 
over  the  ridge,  Luck  favored  me,  for  as  I  reached  the 
top  I  saw  the  musk-oxen  had  turned  again,  and  that  two 
of  them  were  running  due  west  and  one  southwest,  while 
two  others  were  going  to  the  eastward,  with  some  of  the 
dogs  in  full  chase.  I  went  straight  on,  keeping  just  under 
the  top  of  the  ridge,  and  when  the  two  musk-oxen  came 
opposite  me  it  was  within  about  loo  yards.  I  fired  twice, 
scoring  each  time.  One  dropped,  and  the  other,  I  noted, 
was  staggering  as  I  threw  another  shell  into  my  rifle  and 
started  after  the  third,  that  was  a  good  bit  to  the  south. 
About  two  more  miles  of  running  took  me  within  fair  range, 
and  one  shot  brought  him  to  a  dead  stop,  where  he  stood 
until  I  had  approached  to  within  seventy-five  yards  and 
put  another  ball  behind  his  shoulder  that  brought  him 
down.  All  three  were  bulls — two  of  them  the  largest  I 
had  seen,  and  the  third  but  very  little  smaller — and  I  de- 
lighted in  the  comforting  realization  that  come  what  might 
thereafter,  at  least  I  had  my  three  heads,  and  my  trip  to 
the  Barrens  was  successful. 

I  was  determined  the  dogs  should  not  get  a  chanc 
the  throats  of  these  musk-oxen,  so  I  set  to  work  at  once 
cutting  off  the  heads,  leaving  the  removal  of  the  robes  to 
the  Indians. 

It  was  u  difficult  job  in  that  terrific  cold  and  storm,  and 
even  with  my  gloves  on  work  was  possible  for  onlj-  a  few 
moments  at  a  time,  when  it  was  necessary  to  slap  both 
hands  vigorously  to  keep  them  from  freezing.     As  it  was 


26o      ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO   THE   UARREN    GROUNDS 


I  had  frequently  to  pull  off  my  glove  and  stick  my  right 
hand,  with  which  I  was  using  my  knife,  into  the  warm 
stomach  of  the  musk-ox. 

That  was  a  fearful  night  we  put  in,  for  the  storm  in- 
creased, and  the  howling  of  the  wind  was  almost  as 
mournful  as  the  howling  of  the  dogs  that  piled  in  on  top 
of  us. 

Next  morning  the  storm  had  developed  into  a  blizzard. 
The  wind  blew  directly  in  our  faces ;  the  snow  was  blind- 
ing ;  men  and  dogs  were  blown  out  of  their  tracks,  and  we 
could  hardly  make  headway.  And  yet — it  was  a  happy 
day ;  for  three  musk-ox  heads  were  safely  on  my  sledge  (I 
discarded  the  damaged  one),  and  we  had  reached  our  most 
northerly  point. 

We  had  had  four  days  of  continuous  storming  and  bit- 
terest cold — weather  that  no  other  Indian  leader  but  Be- 
niah  would  have  faced.  But  cold  and  storm  were  insig- 
nificant now  that  the  success  of  my  trip  was  assured, 
and  we  should  henceforth  face  the  sun  and  turn  our  backs 
on  the  arctic  coast. 

Fortunately  that  night  the  storm  ceased  and  the  stars 
came  out,  and  I  read  my  compass  by  the  North  Star,  and 
recorded  its  needle  as  showing  a  deflection  of  47°  east  of 
north.  I  knew,  therefore,  we  could  be  but  two  or  three 
days  from  the  Arctic  Ocean,  judging  by  the  rate  we 
had  travelled,  and  by  a  comparison  with  the  reading  of 
Sir  John  Franklin's  compass,  which,  when  he  descended 
the  Coppermine  River  in  canoes,  was  recorded  on  the 
67th  degree  ol  latitude  as  47°  east  of  north.  Judged  also 
by  my  knowledge  of  distances,  Yellow  Knife  River  takes 
its  source  in  latitude  64°,  and  is  160  miles  long.  The  spot 
where  Fort  Enterprise  is  supposed  to  have  stood  is  29 
miles  from  this  river's  source.  Fort  Enterprise  by  canoe 
to  the  mouth  of  Coppermine  River  is  334  miles;  arctic 


BKVOND   THE   ARCTIC    CIRCLE 


261 


Circle  from  King's  Lake,  at  our  point  of  crossing,  about 
210  miles;  arctic  circle  to  Arctic  Ocean,  about  80  miles. 

We  had  been  travelling  from  the  "last  wood"  about 
eleven  to  twelve  days,  and  from  King's  Lake  thirteen  to 
fourteen  days.  I  found  when  I  returned  to  Slave  Lake 
that  during  my  journey  to  the  Barren  Grounds  I  had  lost 
a  day  somehow,  and  that  is  why  I  am  not  positive  as  to 
the  exact  number. 

We  had  travelled  a  pretty  good  pace,  and  I  was  quite 
sure  we  were  not  much  more  than  fifty  miles  from  the 
Arctic   Ocean.     I   made    signs    to    Beniah   that 
night,  offering  him  a  hundred  skins  to  go  down 
to  the  ocean.     I  do  not  know  that  he  understood 
me ;  I  am  under  the  impression  he  did  ;  at  any 
rate,  he  declined,  and  I  must  confess  I  did  not 
press  my  desire,  for  I  was  quite  willing  to  turn 
round    and  face   Great    Slave    Lake.     It   would 
have  been  exceedingly  hazardous  to  go  on  to  the 
ocean,  because  our  wood  supply  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  get  us  back  to  the  "  last  wood,"  and  we 
were  by  no  means  certain  of  meeting  Eskimos. 
Besides,  no  one  knew  what  our  reception  might 
be  if  we  did  meet  them,  for  there  is  heredittrv 
enmity  between  the  Eskimos  on  the  coast  and 
the  Northland  Indians  to  the  south. 

About  one  hundred  years  ago  the  Dog-Ribs 
surprised  a  party  of  Eskimos  several  days  south 
of  where  we  then  were   and    massacred   them.     __.,  . 
believe,  is   the   only   record   of   bloodshed   between  "the 
nations  or  of  their  meeting  ;   but  it  was  all-sufficient  to 
have  made  a  lasting  impression. 


ESKIMO 
KNU'E 

That,  I 


\r  ]'■ 


XXIII 


r;)ii 


'1 1! 


Ul) 


Ui;    i./!, 


SUPERSTITIONS  aM)  TRADITIONS 

Everybody  was  in  good  humor  that  night  in  the  lodge, 
and  I  was  very  much  interested  in  watching  the  develop- 
ment, out  of  a  caribou  shoulder-blade,  of  an  Indian  hunting 
talisman.  The  shoulder-blade  when  finished  becomes  at 
once  talisman  and  propliet.  It  is  scraped  clean  of  its  flesh, 
and  then  with  a  piece  of  burned  wood  the  Indian  pictures 
upon  it,  first,  the  points  of  the  compass,  and  then  one 
or  more  hunters,  with  caribou  in  the  distance.     When  his 

drawing  is  complete  the  blade 
is  held  over  the  fire,  and  the 
dark  spots  that  appear  in  the 
bone  indicate  the  direction  in 
which  game  will  be  found. 
Where  scveial  hunters  are  rep- 
resented in  the  drawing,  that 
one  nearest  the  spots  is  hailed 
the  lucky  individual. 

The  Indians  have  several  su- 
perstitions pertaining  to  the 
disposition  of  game,  but  none 
more  rigidly  adhered  to  than  that  relating  to  the  head  of 
moose  or  caribou.  It  is  considered  exceedingly  bad  luck 
to  the  hunter  if  the  jaw  or  any  part  of  the  head  is  eaten 
by  the  dogs,  and  it  is  North-country  courtesy  that  the 
head  invariably  goes  to  the  successful  hunter  for  such  dis- 


CRF.E-INDIAN   ORNAMENTS 


SUPERSTITIONS   AND    TRADITIONS 


263 


posal  as  he  pleases.  In  the  Barren  Grounds,  of  course, 
the  caribou  head  becomes  the  common  property  of  the 
party,  but  the  dogs  never  get  any  part  of  it.  At  the  posts 
it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  trade  a  head  from  the  Ind- 
ians; and  the  Indian  women  never  eat  the  chin,  believing 
they  would  grow  a  beard  if  they  did. 

These  Northland  Indians  are  filled,  in  fact,  with  all  sorts 
of  ridiculous  superstitions,  but  their  traditions  are  few. 
That  of  the  Barren  Grounds  seems  to  be  very  sensible. 
It  sets  forth  that  during  a  time  of  peace  all  the  animals 
were  killed  for  a  grand  feast,  at  which  all  the  tribes  were 
to  gather  on  the  Barren  Grounds.  An  old  woman  who 
was  trusted  to  watch  the  pots  allowed  the  grease  to  run 
over,  which  fired  the  soil  and  burned  up  the  entire 
country. 

They  are  strong  believers  in  reincarnation  in  animals. 
It  has  always  been  a  belief  among  them  that  men  and 
women  after  death  pass  into  some  of  the  wild  beasts  of 
the  country.  Many  years  ago,  they  say,  a  woman  strayed 
into  the  Barrens  among  the  musk  cattle,  and  eventually 
became  one.  Because  of  this  they  believe  the  musk  cat- 
tle understand  their  speech.  It  is  quite  common  to  hear 
the  Indians  jabbering,  apparently  to  themselves,  in  their 
chase,  but  it  is  said  they  are  really  directing  the  llight  of 
the  musk-oxen.  If  this  is  true,  either  the  Indians  have 
slight  consideration  for  themselves  or  the  musk-oxen  arc 
distressingly  disobedient,  otherwise  I  imagine  Beniah  and 
his  party  would  have  commanded  the  bands  we  saw  to 
give  us  less  running.  It  is  claimed,  too,  that  the  Indians 
do  not  chatter  to  any  other  animal;  but  this  is  not  so,  be- 
cause I  heard  them  when  they  were  chasing  caribou. 

Still  they  do  have  a  firm  belief  in  the  rehabilitation  of 
the  two-legged  into  the  four-legged  animal.  I  was  assured 
in  all  seriousness  by  the  interpreter  at  Great  Slave  Lake 


TnT'TT 


264      ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO   THE    BARKEN   GROUNDS 


Wii 


that  he  knew  an  old  man,  who  had  died  two  years  previous 
to  my  visit,  who  for  ,  lee  years  at  one  time  of  his  life  had 
disappeared  from  his  usual  haunts,  and  on  his  return  de- 
clared he  had  been  a  wolf.     This  was,  and  is  to  this  day, 


*v 


11 


^i; 


II,''       V 


••: ) 


.! 


OI.U   COPPER    KNIVES 


implicitly  believed  by  the  Indians  about  Resolution,  be- 
cause there  are  still  living  many  men  who  say  that  when 
hunting  with  this  man,  after  his  return  from  the  wolf- 
state,  he  explained  the  meaning  of  the  wolf's  howling,  and 


SUPERSTITIONS    AND  TRADITIONS 


265 


forecast  their  movement  with  an  accuracy  that  could  not 
have  been  gained  except  by  "  being  one  himself." 

Their  tradition  of  the  world's  origin  is  rather  quaint, 
but  has  a  latter-day  flavoring  that  to  me  seems  to  savor 
of  missionary  teachings.     However,  put  into  intelligible 
English  from  the  interpreter's  translation,  it  is  as  follows : 
For  three  years  there  had  been  excessive  cold,  with  snow 
in  summer  as  well  as  in  winter,  and  all  the  rivers  and  lakes 
were  frozen  hard,  even  to  thp  very  bottom.     So  the  fish 
and  all  other  animals  (which   could  understand  one  an- 
other) gathered   for  consolation  and   consultation.     Fire 
being  scarce,  and  the  circle  about  it  so  deep,  the  squirrel 
was  crowded  out,  and  working  his  way  through  the  legs 
of  the  larger  animals,  crept  so  close  to  the  fire  that  he 
singed  his  back,  and  that  is  the  reason  his  back  is  now 
yellow.     After  waiting  a  long  time  for  a  break  in   the 
weather,  all  the  animals  and  fish  determined  to  hunt  up 
the  heat.     So  they  started  off  on  their  search,  and  after  a 
while  came  to  a  doorway,  which  they  concluded  must  be 
the  entrance  to  heaven. 

All  entered,  and  found  themselves  in  a  warmer  atmos- 
phere.  After  going  some  distance  they  came  to  an  open 
lake,  on  the  bank  of  which  was  a  bear  and  her  cubs. 
Some  of  the  heat  search-party  started  to  cross  the  lake, 
the  opposite  shore  of  which  seemed  green  and  full  of 
life;  but  as  often  as  they  made  an  attempt  the  bear  gave 
chase  in  her  canoe  and  speared  them.  While  the  bear 
was  thus  occupied  those  on  the  bank  entered  upon  an 
exploration  that  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  the  bear's 
lodge.  Here,  hanging  up,  they  saw  many  bladders,  which, 
in  reply  to  their  inquiry,  the  cubs  that  had  followed  them 
said,  "The  first  one  contains  bad  weather,  the  second 
rain,  the  next  snow,  etc."  But  the  contents  of  the  last 
bag  the   cubs  would  not  disclose,  and   immediately  the 


I 


\'-\ 


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266       ON    SNO\V-SIIOi:s   TO     IIIH    HAUKKX    (iKOUNDS 


,i'  V 


.  .■  ■} 


U''l\ 


1 

«  1 

1 

■IS, 

m 

In 

ir 

visitors  surmisL'd  it  must  contain  the  lonfj-souglit  heat. 
So  the  most  courageous  of  them  grabbed  it  and  started 
to  make  off,  followed  by  the  cubs,  who  cried,  "  My  mother, 
my  mother,  they  have  taken  the  bag  of  heat  I"  This  was 
the  marauders'  first  intimation  that  the  prize  they  had 
was,  indeed,  the  one  sought. 

The  bear  joined  in  the  pursuit,  and  forthwith  began  a 
chase  for  the  possession  of  the  bag.  First  the  man  took 
the  bag,  but  the  bear  gained  on  him  ;  then  tlie  jack-fish, 
but  the  bear  still  gained ;  then  the  loche-fish  was  given 
the  bag.  and  the  bear  immediately  began  falling  behind. 
As  they  went  through  the  alleged  gate  of  heaven  the  bag 
burst, and  the  heat  spread  all  over  the  world.  In  no  time 
the  snow  and  ice  of  three  years' accumulation  had  melted, 
and  th'j  waters  began  to  rise.  They  saw  they  would  all 
be  drowned,  and  so  set  to  work — the  bear  included — to 
erect  a  high  lodge,  into  the  top  of  which  they  all  went, 
except  some  of  the  fish  that  plunged  into  the  waters  and 
were  never  heard  of  afterwards. 

After  remaining  in  this  lodge  a  long  time,  all  the  birds 
were  sent  off  to  find  the  earth,  but  only  the  duck  returned, 
with  dirt  in  his  bill.  Finall}-  the  water  began  to  subside, 
and  then  their  fears  of  no  earth  changed  to  dread  lest 
there  be  no  water.  So  they  sent  out  a  big  man  to  make 
rivers  and  lakes,  which  he  accomplished  by  digging  a  long 
trench  for  the  rivers  and  round  holes  for  the  lakes,  the 
earth  taken  out  and  thrown  aside  being  the  mountains. 

I  heard  a  variation  of  this,  which  said  that  the  sur- 
vivors of  the  flood  floated  on  a  raft  for  a  long  time  with- 
out being  able  to  find  a  resting-place.  One  day  a  rat 
appeared  on  the  surface,  and  the  Indians  asked  him  to 
Hive  and  see  if  he  could  find  bottom,  and  the  obliging  rat 
did  so,  and  brought  up  a  mouthful  of  clay,  which  forth- 
with began  to  grow  until  it  finally  became  the  world. 


SUI'EUSTITIONS   AM;   TRADITIONS 


26j 


There  seem  to  be  few  traditions  of  battles  or  of  ancient 
prowess.  I  heard  of  onlj-  one  hero,  and  he  was  rather  a 
third-rate  Yellow-Knife  warrior,  whose  chief  ^'lory  seemed 
to  have  been  acquired  througli  the  quantities  of  meat  and 
grease  he  could  consume  at  one  sittin"- 


■^ 


^, 


<>^^< 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


1.1 


1.25 


|5o   "^^     H^H 

1^  li£    12.2 
I   U,    ||20 

^  lllllii^ 


Hiotographic 

Sdences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  MSSO 

(716)I72-4S03 


^ 


> 


^ 


* 


It ' 


XXIV 
RETURNING  TO  THE  "LAST   WOOD" 

For  one  day  wc  went  to  the  westward,  and  on  Tuesday, 
April  9tli,  we  turned  our  backs  on  the  Arctic  Ocean  and 
started  for  the  "  last  wood. " 

Aside  from  the  inexpressible  gratification  at  success 
and  of  facing  the  south,  the  second  and  third  days  of  our 
return  journey  were  the  plcasantest  of  the  trip.  It  was 
still  very  cold  and  the  wind  fierce,  but  then  no  storm  beat 
on  our  heads,  and  we  were  lucky  to  get  meat  enough  for 
a  bite  all  round.  The  sun  shone  brilliantly  on  both  days, 
and  I  had  my  first  and  only  view  of  the  glory  of  an  arctic 
sun,  surrounded  by  a  triple  corona,  with  longitudinal  and 
latitudinal  cross-sectioning  rays,  and  all  crowned  with  four 
mock  suns.  This  is  quite  a  common  spectacle  in  the 
arctic  regions ;  but  it  stormed  so  steadily  during  my  trip 
that  I  saw  very  little  of  celestial  display  either  by  day  or 
by  night. 

We  saw  more  caribou  in  these  two  days  than  in  the 
entire  eleven  days'  travel  north  from  the  "  last  wood  "  to 
our  turning-point.  Evidently  we  had  been  ahead  of  all 
but  a  few  stragglers,  and  were  just  now  meeting  the  bands 
on  their  migration  to  the  arctic  coast. 

As  we  were  camping  the  night  of  the  second  day  I 
viewed  such  a  band  as  made  it  easy  for  me  to  believe  the 
stories  of  vast  numbers  in  summer,  when  all  the  bands 
join  in  one  countless  herd.    We  were  putting  up  our  lodge 


RETURNING   TO  THE   "LAST   WOOD" 


369 


when  I  heard  a  sound  that,  though  strange,  seemed  some- 
what like  the  wind,  and  I  gave  Keniah  a  questioning  look, 
and  he,  answering,  said  ''Et/un."  I  should  have  thought 
he  was  joking  but  for  the  haste  with  which  the  Indians 
grabbed  their  guns  and  made  off  in  the  direction  whence 
the  noise  came.  When  I  looked  down  from  the  ridge, 
sure  enough,  there,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away,  was  a 
huge  herd  of  caribou  on  the  full  run,  and  it  was  the  noise 
made  by  their  hoofs  in  the  snow  that  I  had  mistaken  for 
the  wind. 

There  must  have  been  several  hundred  in  that  herd,  and 
it  is  comment  enough  on  Indian  hunting  to  say  we  secured 
four  caribou  out  of  the  lot.  I  astonished  the  Indians  into 
a  chorus  of  "  ucaotis"  (good),  and,  I  confess,  surprised  my- 
self also,  by  bringing  down  a  bull  that  was  going  fast 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  away. 

The  two  following  days  were  cold  and  fogg)-,  the  fog 
on  the  first  day  rivalling  the  density  of  the  London  ar- 
ticle. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  first  day  we  saw  musk-ox 
tracks  as  we  were  crossing  a  lake,  and  followed  them  for  a 
a  couple  of  hours,  until  they  disappeared  in  the  drifting 
snow. 

The  second  day  was  just  as  cold,  but  the  fog  had  light- 
ened somewhat  when,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  a 
band  of  musk-oxen  were  sighted  about  three  miles  off 
along  the  side  of  a  ridge.  As  I  had  as  many  musk-oxen 
as  I  wanted,  and  no  wish  to  shoot  for  the  mere  killing.  I 
gave  my  rifle  to  Hcniah,  shouldered  my  camera  instead, 
leaving  my  dogs  to  be  unhitched  by  the  Indians,  if  they 
wanted  them — because  some  of  the  Indians  were  already 
in  full  run. 

Our  party  had  been  progressing  southward  in  two  col- 
umns, separated  by  about  a  mile,  with  scouts  out  on  either 


270      0\   SNOW-SHOES   TO   TIIK    RARREN    GROUNDS 

side,  so  as  to  have  the  better  chance  of  getting  whatever 
game  lay  in  our  course. 

Beniah's  brigade,  to  which  I  was  attached,  was  to  the 
westward,  and  as  the  musk-oxen  had  been  discovered  to 
the  eastward,  the  other  brigade  had  considerable  advan- 
tage in  starting.  Thus  it  was  that  we  approached  in  sev- 
eral diffe»ent  parties,  and  from  as  many  different  directions, 
with  the  result  that  the  musk-oxen  broke  into  four  small 
herds,  of  which  I  could  catch  occasional  glimpses  as  I 
raced  over  the  tops  of  the  ridges. 

This  particular  part  of  the  country  was  more  broken  up 
into  ridges,  I  think,  than  any  that  I  saw. 

After  a  hard  run  I  came  up  with  two  of  the  Indians 
and  three  musk-oxen,  the  last  one  of  which  dropped  as  I 
got  within  camera  range.  Of  course  I  was  anxious  to  get 
a  photograph  of  the  musk-ox  alive,  and  so  I  went  on  after 
one  of  the  other  herds.  Hut  again  1  was  unfortunate,  for 
as  I  got  on  top  of  one  of  the  little  ridges  I  again  heard 
firing,  and  saw  another  Indian  put  the  last  touch  to  two 
other  musk-oxen.  I  thought  this  pretty  hard  luck,  but  I 
kept  on  in  the  direction  of  other  firing, and  in  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  came  to  a  small  herd  surrounded  by  a  number  of 
the  dogs  and  several  of  the  Indians.  They  were  firing  as 
I  appeared  on  the  ridge,  and  half  of  the  musk-oxen  were 
already  dead.  I  yelled,  but  the  Indians  paid  no  attention 
to  me,  and  I  increased  my  efforts  to  get  within  camera 
range  before  the  killing  was  ended.  I  reached  the  scene 
of  action  while  there  were  yet  three  cows  and  a  couple  of 
calves  standing,  and  "  pressed  the  button."  Before  I  could 
turn  a  fresh  film  into  my  camera  the  cows  were  down ;  but 
I  secured  two  more  plates  of  the  calves  while  they  were 
standing  at  bay  before  the  dogs,  and  subsequently  two 
plates  of  the  general  scene.  There  was  no  sun  shining, 
and,  as  I  have  said,  the  day  was  foggy,  so  that,  unfortu- 


3     ^ 


n,     ^ 


w 


|M     ' 


i 


RETURNING   TO   THE    "LAST   WOOD  " 


873 


nately,  the  plate  showing  the  three  cows  was  a  faihire,  and 
the  others  are  so  weak  as  to  be  almost  impossible  of  repro- 
duction. A  yearling  and  one  two-year-old  bull  were  the 
only  males  in  the  entire  herd. 

I  find  in  my  note-book  that  I  neglected  to  record  how 
many  were  killed  out  of  that  herd,  and  I  do  not  remember 
the  exact  number,  but  it  was  about  twelve.  We  had  now 
forty  musk-ox  robes,  and  as  this  is  considered  an  excep- 
tionally good  hunt,  and  we  had  all  that  our  dogs  could 
drag,  Beniah  signed  to  me  that  we  should  now  make  a 
straight  shoot  for  the  "  last  wood."  The  sledges  were 
brought  up  to  the  scene,  and  we  began  skinning  the  musk 
cattle,  cutting  off  meat  for  dog-feed,  and  laying  in  a  sup- 
ply of  the  fat  and  intestines  for  our  own  consumption. 

From  these  preparations  I  assumed  we  were  likely  to 
see  no  more  musk-oxen,  and  that  we  had  slight  chance  of 
running  across  caribou ;  and  lieniah,  in  fact,  gave  me  to 
understand  that  the  supply  we  took  here  must  last  until 
we  reached  Great  Slave  Lake,  helped  out  by  the  balls  of 
pemmican  and  the  caribou  cow  we  had  cached  at  the 
"  last  wood." 

That  night  two  of  our  party  were  missing,  and  repeated 
firing  of  guns  aroused  no  response.  It  was  well  on  towards 
noon  the  next  day  before  they  turned  up,  so  much  the 
worse  for  their  experience  that  I  gave  them  what  remained 
of  my  brandy. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  day  after  the  musk-ox 
killing  we  crossed  snow-shoe  and  sledge  tracks  coming  out 
of  the  southwest.  1  cannot  describe  what  a  curious  sensa- 
tion the  sight  of  those  tracks  gave  me.  It  must  have  been 
just  such  a  sensation  as  stirred  Robinson  Crusoe  when  he 
saw  the  solitary  footprint  in  the  sand.  Wandering  over 
the  Barrens  for  so  many  days  without  the  sight  of  a 
human  face  outside  of  your  own  party,  you  grow  to  a 
i8 


274      ON  SNOW-SHOES  TO  THE   BAUREN  GROUNDS 


feeling  that  you  and  your  party  are  cut  off  from  the  world ; 
and  when  on  a  sudden  the  evidence  is  presented  of  others 
being  in  that  same  desolate  waste,  you  experience  first 
wonder  and  then  pity  that  any  one  else  should  be  plung- 
ing into  the  misery  that  you  are  leaving. 

I  afterwards  learned  that  those  tracks  had  been  made 
by  the  Fort  Rae  Indians,  who  were  just  starting  into  the 
Barrens  for  their  spring  hunt. 

With  the  tracks  of  those  Fort  Rae  Indians  we  bade 
farewell  to  the  last  decent  weather  we  were  to  have  until 
we  reached  the  "  last  wood." 

For  four  consecutive  days  we  went  on  against  a  raging 
blizzard,  over  the  characteristic  country  of  the  Barren 
Grounds,  without  seeing  a  musk-ox,  a  caribou,  or  any  liv- 
ing creature.  Nature  had  not  favored  us.  While  we  were 
going  north  the  storms  blew  from  the  arctic  into  our 
faces,  and  when  we  were  going  south  they  whirled  around 
and  smote  us  from  that  direction.  Sometimes  they  varied 
and  came  from  the  east  or  west,  but  that  relieved  the  diffi- 
culties of  travelling  very  little.  In  fact,  I  believe  they 
were  increased,  for  it  wearied  the  dogs  almost  more  by 
beating  sideways  upon  them  than  by  driving  directly  into 
their  faces. 

And  all  the  time  it  was  so  cold.  How  cold,  I  cannot 
adequately  describe ;  and  our  wood  was  going  stick  by 
stick,  and  we  had  begun  on  our  lodge  poles,  all  but  two  of 
which  had  been  consumed  by  the  time  we  reached  the 
"  last  wood." 

In  these  four  days  we  again  crossed  Lake  Ecka-tua,  at  a 
different  point  from  that  on  the  northward  journey,  and  in 
the  midst  of  our  battling  with  the  storm  there  was  com- 
fort in  getting  back  on  territory  that  you  recognized.  It 
seemed  as  though  we  were  not  cast  away,  after  all.  It  was 
a  blessed  thing  we  had  no  sun  in  these  days,  for  at  the  last 


RETURNING   TO   THE    "LAST   WOOD" 


275 


musk-ox  killing  a  number  of  the  Indians  were  badly  snow- 
blind,  so  much  so  that  they  were  obliged  to  wear  a  kind  of 
veiling  over  their  faces  even  in  the  lodge.  And  still  I  was 
spared. 

During  these  four  days  of  plodding  in  practical  darkness 
I  was  impressed  with  Beniah's  accurate  gauge  of  direction. 
Probably  two  or  three  times  in  the  day  he  would  sight 
over  my  compass,  and  then,  despite  the  fact  that  wc  could 
not  see  very  far  ahead,  he  would  keep  the  course  with 
what  seemed  to  me  astonishing  precision.  A  number  of 
times  there  was  an  incipient  mutiny  among  the  Indians, 
who  questioned  his  direction,  but  on  every  occasion  my 
compass  settled  the  dispute  and  proved  Hcniah  right. 

At  last,  about  noon  of  the  fifth  day,  the  storm  broke, 
and  though  the  sun  did  not  appear  at  first,  the  clouds 
lightened,  and  some  of  the  fury  went  out  of  the  wind. 
Still,  wc  could  not  see  very  far  ahead  of  us.  As  the  day 
lengthened  the  clouds  brightened,  until  at  four  o'clock  it 
was  possible  to  sec  ahead  quite  a  little  distance. 

I  was  the  leading  train   in  the  procession,  and  at  six 
o'clock  had  reached  the  top  of  a  ridge,  when 
a  scene  spread  before  me  that  made  cold 
chills  chase  up  and  down  my  spinal  column 
and  my  hair  seem   to  stand  on  end.     Di- 
rectly in  front,  and  not  half  a 
mile   away,  was  a  dark  patch. 
I    could    scarcely    believe    my 
eyes.     I  stood  and  gazed  at  it 
like  one  petrified.      It  seemed 
as  though  it  must  be  a  mirage. 

I  could  not  realize  that  it  was  the  "  last  wood."  By  my 
calculations  we  were  not  due  to  reach  it  until  the  next 
day,  and  I  could  not  believe  we  had  actually  got  within 
sight  of  timber.     But  when  the  Indians  came  up  I  knew 


MUSK-OX-HORN    SI'OON 


i; 


It 


276       ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO  THE   HARREN   GROUNDS 

it  for  the  "last  wood,"  for,  on  viewing  it,  they  broke  into 
shouting  and  dancing  that  showed  me  not  the  only  one 
to  be  relieved  by  the  sight  of  this  vanguard  of  timber 
land.  Even  the  dogs  joined  in  the  celebration  by  jumping 
in  their  harness  and  setting  up  their  wolfish  chorus. 

True  to  Indian  custom,  we  stopped  on  top  of  the  ridge 
and  viewed  the  oasis  which  was  to  furnish  us  with  a  warm 
fire  that  night  while  we  smoked  a  pipe.  As  we  sat  there 
the  sun  burst  forth — just  setting — surrounded  by  a  huge 
ring,  and  shining  through  the  most  splendid  exhibition  of  a 
"  mackerel  sky  "  that  I  have  ever  seen.  It  was  only  a  mo- 
mentary sight,  but  while  it  lasted  it  was  a  glorious  one. 
And  then  we  went,  as  may  be  imagined,  at  a  good,  stiff 
run  until  we  had  entered  the  "  last  wood." 

No  one  that  has  not  had  a  similar  experience  knows 
what  it  means  to  come  again  to  wood  after  twenty-two 
days  of  wandering  over  a  desolate  waste  and  in  bitterest 
cold ;  so  cold  that  the  head  feels  as  though  in  a  never- 
warming  compress,  and  the  blood  seems  to  stand  still. 
Only  those  that  have  been  so  situated  can  appreciate  what 
twenty-two  days  of  that  condition  means  to  a  man  who 
is  never  more  than  half  fed  and  most  of  the  time  hardly 
that.  The  sight  of  that  wood  was  like  a  view  of  water  to 
a  man  perishing  of  thirst !  And  what  a  fire  we  had  that 
night !  How  good  it  was  to  sleep  on  pine  brush  instead 
of  on  rocks  and  snow,  and  to  sit  by  a  fire  and  be  warmed ! 

We  were  counting  on  having  a  good  meal  of  caribou 
when  we  reached  the  "  last  wood,"  and  I  had  determined 
on  making  a  feast  and  a  soup  of  the  pemmican  and  the 
flour.  But  when  we  went  to  the  cache  we  found  to  our 
dismay  that  it  had  already  been  opened,  and  other  than 
hair  and  bones  there  was  little  left  of  the  caribou,  while 
only  one  ball  of  pemmican  and  scarcely  a  handful  of  flour 
remained  to  show  the  work  of  that  despicable  and  foul 


RETURNING  TO  THE   "LAST  WOOD" 


277 


scavenger,  the  wolverine.  I  say  "foul"  because  this 
creature,  the  pest  of  the  Northland  Indian,  invariably  soils 
in  the  cache  what  he  cannot  carry  off.  In  our  case  he  had 
had  abundant  time  to  carry  on  his  despoilation. 

Well,  it  was  a  sad  disappointment  to  find  that  the  mo- 
notony of  our  Barren  Ground  diet— or,  rather,  fast— was 
not  yet  to  be  broken;  but  I  do  not  think  we  minded 
it  much.  We  had  grown  used  to  it.  It  was  so  much 
easier  to  go  hungry  by  a  warming  fire. 


!!■ 


XXV 


TnROU(JII   ARCTIC   STORMS   Tf)   CIREAT   SLAVE   LAKE 


k:  { 


U 


I  A* 


We  were  up  very  early  the  next  day,  determined  to 
push  our  way  through  the  Land  of  Little  Sticks  as  rapidly 
as  possible,  because  our  supply  of  provisions  was  very 
small,  and  even  at  starving  rations  would  scarcely  last  us 
to  reach  Great  Slave  Lake.  At  noontime  we  were  made 
joyful  by  the  sight  of  a  small  herd  of  caribou  which 
two  or  three  of  the  Indians  went  after,  and  afforded  me 
the  most  annoying  and  miserable  exhibition  of  marksman- 
ship I  had  yet  witnessed.  Those  caribou,  at  a  distance  of 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  circled  around  the  Ind- 
ians  until  each  had  fired  twice  without  scoring,  and  then 
they  went  over  the  ridges  towards  the  north  on  a  run. 

Our  first  day  in  the  Land  of  Little  Sticks  was  a  bright 
one  overhead.  The  sun  shone  brilliantly,  and  the  warmth 
brought  us  to  a  sharp  realization  that  the  middle  of  April 
was  at  hand.  Not  that  it  was  so  very  warm — I  suppose  it 
was  probably  about  20°  below  zero,  and  the  only  way  I 
had  of  judging  was  from  my  personal  sensations  in  trav- 
elling. 

I  found  in  the  experience  of  my  long  trip  that  with  the 
thermometer  at  40°  below  zero  and  no  wind  I  was  cool, 
though  not  chilled,  when  running  at  a  gait  of  about  five 
miles  an  hour.  On  the  river,  in  getting  down  to  Slave 
Lake  on  my  northward  journey,  at  such  few  times  when 
the  thermometer  registered  around  30°  below,  I  found  I 


8 
w 

> 

2 
> 


> 

in 

S 


I 

! 


m 


■\i » 


BACK   TO  GREAT   SLAVE    LAKE 


281 


became  comfortably  warm  in  running  at  the  same  rate. 
And  now  on  the  first  day  out  in  the  Land  of  Little  Sticks 
I  was  much  warmer  than  I  had  been  when  the  thermome- 
ter was  30°  below  zero,  so  that  I  judge  it  was  about  20°. 

Moreover,  the  snow  was  now  deeper  than  we  had  yet 
encountered.  The  average  depth  of  snow  in  this  great 
North  country  was  not,  I  think,  over  a  foot  and  a  half. 
The  deepest  I  found  anywhere  was  on  the  bison  hunt, 
where  in  some  places  it  was  about  two  and  one-half  or  may- 
be three  feet  deep.  Snow  does  not  fall  at  any  time  to 
a  very  great  depth  in  the  Northland  because  of  the  exces- 
sive cold  and  the  continuous  gale  that  blows  to  keep  down 
the  average  depth  and  pack  it  hard  on  the  rivers  and  on 
the  Barren  Grounds. 

On  this  first  day  in  the  Little  Sticks  we  toiled  through 
snow  up  to  our  knees,  and  it  was  exceedingly  hard  going 
for  us  and  for  the  dogs.  I  think  we  made  a  less  number 
of  miles  that  day  than  on  any  previous  one,  and  the  reflec- 
tion from  the  dazzling  white  was  fearful  on  the  eyes.  It 
was  a  long  day  and  a  hard  one,  and  when  we  camped  at 
eight  o'clock  the  particular  patch  of  Little  Sticks  in  which 
we  had  taken  refuge  was  exceedingly  small. 

The  morning  of  our  second  day  in  the  Land  of  Little 
Sticks,  after  a  night  that  filled  our  lodge  with  snow  and 
then  threw  it  down,  dawned  with  the  most  terrific  storm 
that  had  yet  visited  its  wrath  upon  us.  It  was  utterly  out 
of  the  question  to  raise  the  lodge,  so  fierce  was  the  wind, 
and  we  propped  it  up  on  the  sledges  while  we  made  our 
tea  over  the  little  sticks  that  we  had  gathered  the  night 
before.  The  storm  raged  so  savagely  and  the  snow  whirled 
about  us  in  such  blinding  fury  that  we  should  not  have 
attempted  to  travel  that  day,  only  there  was  not  enough 
wood  for  another  night's  camping  in  that  patch  of  Little 
Sticks,  and  it  was  better  even  to  face  the  storm  than  to  lie 


( 


282       ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO    THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 


i  •]! 


I 


PI 


n  I, 


;i 


■  f 


i 


in  our  robes  all  day  at  its  mercy  and  without  tea.  More- 
over,  our  supplies  did  not  permit  of  idleness,  and  every  one 
of  us  would  rather  face  all  the  furies  of  the  Barren  Ground 
blasts  when  we  knew  that  at  its  end  we  should  be  a  day- 
nearer  the  timber. 

It  took  us  some  time  to  harness  the  dogs,  and  then  we 
started,  first  getting  the  direction  from  my  compass.  No 
language  of  mine  can  describe  the  violence  of  that  storm  or 
the  extremity  of  our  difficulties  in  facing  it.  At  first  it  was 
utterly  impossible  to  see  fifty  feet  ahead  of  us,  and  as  we 
went  on,  beating  our  way  into  the  very  teeth  of  the  bliz- 
zard, the  wind  increased  and  the  snow  turned  to  sleet  that 
cut  our  faces  and  covered  us  with  ice  from  head  to  foot.  I 
do  not  suppose  we  travelled  more  than  a  mile  an  hour. 

When  we  "  spelled  "  we  threw  ourselves  face  downward 
to  the  leeward  of  the  sledges  to  escape  the  cutting  sleet 
and  furious  wind  ;  and  when  we  started  on  again  we  had 
first  to  dig  the  dogs  and  the  sledges  from  under  the  snow 
that  in  a  few  moments  completely  buried  us  all  every  time 
we  stopped. 

I  blessed  Foro  that  day,  and  forgave  him  all  the  trib- 
ulation he  had  visited  upon  me  earlier  in  the  trip,  liut 
for  that  dog  I  fear  I  should  have  been  lost.  From  the  tail 
of  my  sledge  it  was  impossible  to  see  the  one  immediately 
ahead  of  me,  and  the  wind  so  rapidly  swept  away  its  tracks 
I  could  not  trust  my  dogs  to  follow  them  ;  so  I  went 
ahead  of  my  dogs,  keeping  just  far  enough  behind  the 
sledge  in  front  o*"  me  to  keep  it  in  view,  and  just  far 
enough  in  front  of  Foro  that  he  might  not  lose  sight 
of  me.  Both  Flossie  and  Finnctte,  my  two  middle  dogs, 
were  dragging  in  the  harness,  and  it  was  all  I  could  do  to 
keep  them  moving  at  all,  while  faithful  Foro  had  the 
double  duty  of  pulling  them  as  well  as  his  share  of  the 
load.     It  was  impossible  to  distinguish  the  color  of  one  dog 


^^v^ 


n 


A'    > 


ID    '^ 

3    -. 


5    » 

r 


BACK  TO   GREAT   SLAVE    LAKE 


^8S 


from  that  of  another.  They  were  completely  incased  in 
ice,  and  every  little  while  I  was  obliged  to  stop  and  dig 
the  sleet  out  of  Foro's  eyes  so  that  he  could  see  to  follow 
me.  And  thus  we  went  on,  stopping  only  at  intervals  to 
rest  the  dogs,  and  travelling  by  compass  the  entire  time. 

The  dogs  were  moving  slower  and  slower,  and  seemed 
to  be  freezing  in  the  harness,  as  we  stopped  at  a  point  of 
rocks  about  four  o'clock.  When  we  counted  up  our  num- 
ber Beniah  and  one  of  the  Indians  with  their  sledges  and 
dogs  were  missing.  They  had  been  the  last  of  the  pro- 
cession. We  fired  a  few  signals,  and  then  as  the  rocks 
afforded  shelter  to  the  dogs,  and  there  were  a  few  little 
sticks  near  by  for  the  tea,  we  determined  to  camp  for  the 
night.  It  was  with  utmost  difficulty  we  set  up  our  lodge, 
spread  out  so  as  to  be  scarcely  waist  high  in  the  centre, 
but  it  broke  the  wind  sufficiently  to  enable  us  to  make  a 
cup  of  tea.  We  were  literally  covered  with  ice  from  head 
to  foot,  and  thus,  as  it  was  impossible  to  thaw  out  by  the 
puny  fire  we  had,  we  rolled  up  in  our  robes  for  the  most 
miserable  night  I  experienced  on  the  Barren  Grounds 
trip. 

There  was  not  much  rest  for  any  of  us  that  night,  but 
we  started  on  in  the  morning  determined  to  force  our  way 
through  the  storm  and  reach  the  haven  of  timber.  The 
storm  had  abated  somewhat,  though  it  still  beat  upon 
us  with  demoniacal  rage,  and  we  could  hardly  keep 
headway.  But  for  the  storm  of  the  day  before  we  should 
have  reached  the  timber's  edge  this  night,  but  our  travel 
was  slow,  and  although  we  kept  at  it  until  long  after  dark 
there  was  no  sign  of  timber  when  we  rolled  into  our  robes, 
supperless,  almost  hopeless. 

Nearly  all  day  we  had  kept  scouts  out  on  cither  side 
looking,  without  success,  for  Beniah's  tracks,  and  half  a 
dozen  times  we  had  fired  signals  that  brought  us  no  re- 


u 


286      ON  SNOW-SHOES  TO  THE  BARREN  GROUNDS 


ri 

; 


t 


v>: 


ll' 


:l 


I 


sponse.  We  could  do  nothing  more.  We  should  have 
taken  our  lives  in  hand  and  been  useless  to  Beniah  had 
we  gone  back  in  an  effort  to  trace  him  from  where  he  had 
strayed  off.  The  print  of  a  snow-shoe  in  that  gale  did 
not  last  long  enough  to  be  seen  by  a  man  following  close- 
ly upon  it,  and  to  attempt  to  hunt  up  tracks  a  night  old 
would  have  been  utmost  folly. 

I  knew  Beniah,  if  he  were  alive,  would  keep  travelling 
all  night,  as  he  had  no  lodge  and  no  tea  and  nothing  to 
eat,  and  his  only  chance  for  his  life  was  to  make  for  tha 
woods.  He  would,  of  course,  travel  south,  and  I  was  con- 
fident, from  my  knowledge  of  his  skill,  that  he  would 
pretty  nearly  hit  the  right  direction.  I  knew  if  he  were 
alive  he  would  reach  the  wood  ahead  of  us.     Still  we  kept 

out  our  scouts  and  contin- 
ued our  signalling. 

It  stormed  all  night  of 
the  third  day,  and  our 
fourth  in  the  Land  of  Lit- 
tle Sticks  opened  like  the 
terrible  second.  How  we 
managed  to  keep  going  at 
all  I  declare  I  cannot  now 
understand.  Our  allowance 
of  food  was  no  greater  than 
we  had  averaged  in  the  Barrens  proper,  and  the  coat- 
ing of  ice  in  which  we  were  all  incased  of  course  had  not 
been  thawed  out,  but  on  the  contrary  was  thickened  by  the 
continuous  storming.  But  I  was  nerved  up,  and  I  suppose 
the  Indians  were  also,  by  the  hope  of  reaching  timber. 
We  knew  we  must  be  very  close  to  it,  but  we  could  not 
see  far  enough  ahead,  as  we  came  on  to  the  ridges,  to  sub- 
stantiate our  hopes.  We  simply  kept  plodding  and  plod- 
ding away,  expecting  every  hour  to  come  on  to  the  timber, 


NATIVE    "SNOW-GLASSES 


BACK  TO  GREAT  SLAVE   LAKE 


287 


and  being  as  hourly  disappointed.  As  we  were  travelling 
through  a  kind  of  valley  my  eye  caught  sight  of  a  birch- 
tree  just  to  the  side  of  my  sledge.  How  well  I  remember 
that  birch-tree !  And  how  delighted  I  was,  for  I  knew  by 
that  sign  the  timber-line  was  very  close. 

Late  in  the  afternoon,  about  four  o'clock,  it  stopped 
snowing  and  the  atmosphere  cleared,  and  an  hour  later 
from  the  top  of  a  ridge  we  saw  a  patch  of  pine.  Another 
hour  and  we  had  passed  this  patch,  and  on  a  ridge  south 
of  it  saw  yet  another.  I  reme  nber  with  what  trepidation 
I  hurried  by  that  patch  and  up  to  the  ridge  beyond,  to 
see  if  indeed  there  were  still  another  sign  of  life,  or  wheth- 
er it  was  all  a  fancy,  and  I  should  look  out  again  upon  the 
old  familiar  stretch  of  unbroken,  glistening  white.  It  was 
a  sort  of  daylight  nightmare.  But  the  patches  were  real- 
ities, for  at  six  o'clock  we  stopped  on  a  high  ridge,  and  be- 
fore us  was  the  edge  of  timber.  It  makes  me  tingle  even 
now  to  remember  my  sensation  at  first  sight  of  pine  ! 
What  a  relief  to  see  nothing  but  the  blackness  of  the  tim- 
ber as  far  ahead  as  we  could  look !  How  grateful  we  were ! 
From  now  on  we  went  through  the  stragglers  of  the 
timber's  edge,  and  just  before  dark  came  upon  Beniah's 
tracks  going  south. 

That  night  we  camped  in  the  timber's  edge  and  dis- 
carded our  lodge.  It  was  blessed  to  realize,  as  I  sat  by 
the  huge  fire,  that  at  least  I  had  left  behind  me  the  cursed 
Barren  Grounds,  with  its  cold  and  wind  and  desolation. 

Next  morning  it  was  the  20th  day  of  April,  and  the 
sun  arose  at  4.30  and  we  were  travelling  at  five  o'clock. 
An  hour  later  we  caught  up  with  Beniah  and  the  other 
Indian,  who  had  camped  the  night  before  about  five  miles 
from  us.  Both  showed  the  effects  of  their  dreadful  expe- 
rience, but  when  I  shook  hands  with  Beniah  the  starva- 
tion, the  cold,  and  the  misery  he  had  endured  found  ex- 


i| 


288      ON  SNOW-SHOES  TO  THE   BARREN  GROUNDS 


* 


<1 


\:> 


u 


I 


pression  only  in  "  Ua  oolc  "  (no  tea).  We  stopped  there 
to  brew  Beniah  a  generous  kettle  of  tea,  and  then  went 
on,  travelling  down  a  chain  of  lakes  all  that  day,  and  I 
was  positively  delirious  with  joy  at  being  able  to  look  on 
any  side  and  see  living  green  trees.  The  weather  in  the 
woods  was  so  much  warmer  than  that  to  which  we  had 
become  inured  that  I  discarded  my  heavy  capote  in  trav- 
elling during  the  day,  and  on  the  second  night  cut  the 
blanket  off  my  sleeping-robe.  It  was  such  a  comfort  to 
sit  up  at  night  around  the  fire,  instead  of  being  obliged 
to  turn  in  without  any  fire,  and  shiver  instead  of  sleep ! 

For  four  days  we  journeyed  over  the  roughest  country 
I  had  yet  seen.  As  I  look  back  on  it  now  I  do  not  see 
how  we  ever  got  the  sledger  and  the  dogs  across  it.  We 
travelled  on  a  chain  of  lakes  for  the  first  day,  but  on  the 
second  went  across  the  hills,  and  thereafter,  until  we  reached 
Slave  Lake,  there  was  no  rest  for  dogs  or  men.  Why 
we  did  not  break  our  sledges  in  pieces  I  do  not  know ;  as 
it  was,  most  of  the  heads  were  broken,  and  nothing  re- 
mained of  the  runners.  We  took  the  sledges  over  places 
where  there  was  a  sheer  drop  of  from  six  to  ten  feet,  and 
the  going  all  the  time  was  over  rocks  standing  on  end, 
over  dead  timber,  and  occasionally  over  swamps. 

We  were  all  using  pushing-poles  to  help  the  dogs,  and 
even  so  they  were  scarcely  able  to  crawl.  There  was  more 
pushing  than  pulling  of  those  sledges  from  the  time  we 
reached  timber.  The  three  musk-ox  heads  on  my  sledge 
made  a  heavy  load,  and  I  began  to  fear  I  should  get 
neither  heads  nor  dogs  back  to  Slave  Lake.  We  were 
all,  men  and  dogs,  completely  worn,  and  every  time  we 
"  spelled  "  threw  ourselves  flat. 

The  sun  had  grown  very  warm,  and  the  tops  of  the 
rocks  were  pretty  generally  bare.  Occasionally  we  saw  lit- 
tle streams  of  trickling  water,  and  then  ensued  a  scramble 


BACK  TO  GREAT  SLAVE  LAKE 


289 


for  a  drink.  And  when  wc  rested  we  sought  the  bare  rocks 
and  sat  on  them,  or  hunted  the  hollows  to  drink  deeply  of 
the  melted  snow-water.  One  day,  I  remember,  as  I  slaved 
with  my  shoulder  against  the  pushing-pole  I  heard  a  bird 
note,  and  it  seemed  so  strange  and  so  sweet  I  stopped, 
hoping  I  might  hear  it  again.  Later,  as  we  neared  Slave 
Lake,  the  little  snowbirds  flitted  about,  to  my  great  de- 
light, for  it  was  the  first  of  bird  life  I  had  seen  since  leaving 
the  pert  whisky-jack,  otherwise  known  as  "camp  robber" 
or  mooscbird,  at  Lac  la  Biche. 

On  the  fifth  day,  after  reaching  the  timber's  edge,  at 
about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  from  a  huge  bowlder 
we  sighted  Great  Slave  Lake.  I  could  not  possibly  have 
felt  a  deeper,  keener  joy  if,  as  I  stood  on  top  that  big  rock. 
New  York  instead  of  Slave  Lake  had  been  revealed  to 
me.  No  one  can  understand  what  it  means  to  return  to 
familiar  ground  after  an  absence  in  such  barrenness  as  the 
Barren  Grounds. 

Hugging  the  shore  of  a  bay,  which  was  open  in  the  cen- 
tre, we  came  out  on  Great  Slave  Lake  at  five  o'clock,  and 
the  first  human  being  we  saw  was  an  ancient  Indian  dame, 
moaning  over  a  sledge  that  held  the  emaciated  remains  of 
her  dead  baby.  A  little  farther  on  we  came  upon  a  camp 
of  Indian  men  and  women.  Some  of  the  women  were 
the  wives  of  the  musk-ox  hunters  who  had  but  a  day  or 
so  before  started  on  their  spring  hunt,  and  the  men  were 
lai-gely  those  that  are  not  sufficiently  courageous  nor 
skilled  to  venture  into  the  Barren  Grounds  for  its  boreal 
rover. 

We  camped  that  night  close  to  the  Indians,  and  I  went 
out  on  a  skirmish  to  get  something  for  my  dogs  to  eat.  I 
still  had  four  or  five  days'  travel  to  Resolution,  and  I  was 
much  afraid  my  dogs  would  not  last,  and  I  wished  very 
much  to  take  them  back  to  Gaudet,  who  had  been  so 
19 


290        0\   SNOWSIIOKS  TO   TIIK    IIAKKKN   (IKOUNDS 


H 


h 

Ti-' 


il, 

1: 


\i 


tl'« 


kind  in  letting  me  have  thcin  when  all  told  him  they 
would  not  live  through  the  iiarreii  (iroinul  experience.  I 
succeeded  in  getting  several  white  fish  and  some  dried 
caribou.  I  had  a  hard  time  to  keep  the  Indian.s  from 
appropriating  it  for  their  own  use,  and  I  should  very  much 
have  liked  a  bite  of  it  myself;  but  my  dogs  needed  it,  I 
thought,  more  than  I,  and  they  ate  ravenously.  How 
ravenous  they  were  may  be  imagined  when  I  say  that  my 
steer-dog,  Blucher,  got  wind  of  a  bitch  having  pups,  and 
devoured  them  as  fast  as  they  were  born,  until  discovered 
by  .some  of  the  other  dogs,  when  there  ensued  a  great  fight 
for  the  remainder  of  the  litter. 

We  had  come  out  on  Slave  Lake  about  a  day  and  a  half 
south  of  Fort  Kae  and  three  days  north  of  where  I  had 
left  it  in  going  into  the  Barrens.  Next  morning  we  started 
for  Beniah's  house  on  the  lake,  and  all  the  Indian  men 
and  women  started  with  us,  as  they  were  moving  their 
camp  a  few  miles  for  better  fishing.  It  was  a  curious 
.spectacle,  that  moving  band  of  Indians.  The  men  went 
on  ahead  with  their  guns,  and  the  women  and  children  fol- 
lowed, driving  the  dogs  and  packing  the  household  effects, 
such  as  they  were.  The  little  children  that  were  not  old 
enough  to  drive  dogs  carried  their  younger  brothers  and 
sisters  that  could  not  walk,  and  every  one  of  them  carried 
something. 

Of  course,  we  shortly  left  the  Indians,  and  by  noon- 
time had  come  to  Beniah's  house,  which  we  found  empty, 
but  we  did  get  a  good  supply  of  fish  for  the  dogs  there, 
though  none  for  ourselves.  We  ate  instead  some  dried 
meat  that  Beniah  raked  up  from  a  corner  of  his  house. 
Beniah  signed  me  that  his  wife  had  moved  to  where  there 
was  fishing  owing  to  the  lack  of  meat  at  t'ais  point ;  io 
we  started  again,  and  at  7.30  that  night  hove  in  sight  of 
Beniah's  lodge.     Immediately  we  fired  guns  to  signal  our 


UACK  TO  (IREAT   SLAVE   LAKK 


aQi 


return,  and  a  salute  that  sounded  like  a  broadside  quickly 
responded. 

As  we  approached  the  little  settlement,  the  men,  wom- 
en, and  children  poured  out  of  the  three  lod^jes,  the  men 
firinj;  their  guns  as  rapidly  as  they  could  load,  and  the 
women  and  children  shoutinjij.  It  was  quite  a  royal  re- 
ception. The  men  and  women  fell  on  one  another's 
necks,  and  everybody  shook  everybody's  hand,  and  then 
formed  a  compact  circle  about  me  while  they  handled 
my  long  hair,  shook  my  hands,  and  commented  on  my 
face,  blackened  and  seamed  from  exposure. 

There  was  no  meat  at  Beniah's  lodge  except  a  few 
pieces  of  moose  (some  Indian  must  have  found  the  animal 
asleep  and  shot  it!),  which  Beniah  and  I  ate  with  great 
relish  after  our  constant  diet  on  intestines  and  fat. 

Naturally  I  was  very  anxious  to  get  back  to  Resolu- 
tion as  quickly  as  possible,  so  Heniah  and  I  started  the 
next  day  at  two  o'clock.  Meanwhile  I  had  braced  my  do^s 
up  wonderfully  by  generous  feeding,  and  I  felt  sure  they 
would  go  through  to  Resolution.  That  night  we  reached 
the  lodge  of  Capot  Blanc,  where  we  had  left  the  lake 
several  weeks  before.  The  next  day  we  made  a  fire  for 
tea  at  the  very  meat  cache  where  I  had  slept  on  my  sec- 
ond night  out  from  Resolution,  and  where  I  had  taken  my 
first  lessons  in  Dog-Rib.  I  sat  that  noon  on  a  rock  and 
remembered  how  about  two  months  before  on  that  same 
spot  I  had  set  up  little  sticks  to  represent  lodges,  and 
used  my  best  efforts  in  the  sign  language  in  an  unreward- 
ed endeavor  to  learn  how  much  farther  we  were  going 
that  night. 

Then  the  Barren  Ground  trip  was  all  before  me ;  now  it 
was  of  the  past — and  there  was  indescribably  deep  con- 
tentment in  the  retrospect.  Two  days  more,  with  the 
dogs  going  much  better  than   I  expected  they  would  — 


292        ON    SNOW-SllOKS   TO   TIIK    UAKKKN    OUOUNKS 


m 


ill! 


on  Tucsilay,  April  .^oth,  at  iialf-past  ten  in  the  morning — 
I,  Icadinj,'  the  \\a\-  in  accordance  with  North  Country 
courtesy,  rounded  a  point  of  Great  Slave  Lake  and  be- 
held h'ort  Resolution. 

In  half  an  hour  I  was  at  the  post,  Gaudet  shaking  my 
hand,  and  the  remaining  population,  all  the  men,  women, 
and  children,  crowding  about  me  in  rather  clamorous 
welcome. 

All  things  come  to  an  end,  and  my  llarren  Ground 
trip,  the  hardest  a  man  could  make,  had  run  its  course. 


' 


l„' 


\i 


XXVI 

UP-STKKAM    FIV   lANOK   TO   rillPl.NVVAV 

I  WOULD  like  to  have  remained  at  (ireat  Slave  Lake  a 
week  or  two,  for  it  was  pleasant  to  be  again  under  a  roof 
and  have  some  one  with  whom  to  talk  and  to  cat  three 
meals  a  Jay.     But  there  was  no  time  for  rest. 

When  Ikniah  and  I  were  coming  into  Resolution  I 
had  found  the  ice  of  the  lake  hard,  and  it  gave  me  hopes 
of  being  able  to  reach  Fort  Smith  on  snow-shoes,  but  the 
day  after  I  arrived  the  weather  turned  so  much  warmer  that 
everything  began  melting,  and  for  the  next  two  days  the 
disappearance  of  snow  and  the  appearance  of  water  on 
the  lake  was  perceptible.  With  the  dissolving  snow  my 
hopes  fled  of  making  a  fast  trip  to  Fort  Smith.  Never- 
theless, I  endeavored  to  hire  Indians  for  an  attempt  at 
getting  there  on  the  ice,  but  the  river  was  reported  full 
of  holes,  and  nothing  could  induce  them  to  make  even 
a  try,  declaring  their  lives  would  be  lost  if  they  did. 
They  seem  to  have  great  consideration  for  a  life  that 
at  best  is  filled  with  misery.  I  used  all  persuasion  and 
all  the  influence  I  could  bring  to  bear  through  Gaudet, 
who  was  kind  enough  to  exert  himself  in  my  behalf. 
But  it  was  of  no  use ;  and  as  I  could  not  go  alone  with 
the  dogs,  I  had  to  forsake  the  idea.  I  knew  that  once 
Great  Slave  River  began  to  break  up  it  would  be  at  least 
ten  days  before  I  could  make  an  ascent  in  a  canoe. 

I  determined,  therefore,  on  going  up  Buffalo  River,  that 


I 


I 


I 

I 


'■,: 


\ 

It 

V 

1 1 


Jl 


i 


,! 


11  J' ^   , 

J'* 


I), 


I 


i\' 


^ 


294       ON    SNO\V-SlIOi:S   TO   TIIIC    liAKkKN   GROUNDS 

headed  north  for  ;i  considerable  distance,  and  the  mouth 
of  which  was  about  fifteen  miles  from  Resolution.  So  I 
sent  an  Indian  over  to  see  how  the  Buffalo  River  looked, 
and  set  about  getting  a  canoe  in  shape.  Meanwhile  it 
was  thawing  rapidly,  and  spring  was  not  lingering  in  the 
lap  of  winter. 

We  had  the  first  duck  of  the  season  on  the  first  day  of 
May,  and  the  first  goose  of  the  season  on  the  second  day 
of  May.  It  was  the  earliest  Northland  spring  on  record. 
The  women  had  all  set  off  to  the  woods  to  make  birch 
syrup ;  birds  put  in  an  appearance,  and  back  of  the  post 
in  the  woods  mosquitoes  were  plentiful.  The  country 
was  under  water,  and  a  most  desolate  appearance  it  made. 
It  looks  better  in  winter,  for  then  the  snow  covers  its  na- 
kedness, and  leaves  one  to  fancy  something  pleasing  under 
the  mantle.     But  the  spring  reveals  its  poverty. 

If  there  was  an  hour  when  I  was  not  eating  during  any 
one  of  the  four  days  I  spent  at  Resolution  I  do  not  re- 
member it.  I  had  returned  very  thin,  but  gained  ten 
pounds  before  I  left  Gaudet's  cabin. 

Ducks  and  geese  kept  passing  over  the  post  continu- 
ously, and  every  flock  threw  the  settlement  into  great  ex- 
citement, every  man  seeking  cover  and  quacking  vigor- 
ously so  long  as  the  flight  lasted.  It  is  customary  to 
bring  the  first  duck  and  the  first  goose  to  the  "  master," 
as  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officer  is  called;  and  the 
successful  hunter  is  well  rewarded. 

On  the  3d  of  May  the  Buffalo  River  was  reported  open 
by  the  Indian  who  was  keeping  watch  for  me,  and  I  im- 
mediatcl}'  prepared  to  send  over  the  canoe.  It  was  rather 
a  problem  how  to  get  a  birch-bark  eighteen  feet  long  with 
a  five-foot  beam  across  the  lake,  but  we  accomplished  it 
by  lashing  two  sledges  together,  held  four  feet  apart  by 
a  pole  ill    front   and  back,  atid  then   carrying   the   canoe 


o 

o 


V, 


71 


•■J' 


i  ! 


1  tf     ) 


*; 


UP-STREAM    nV   CANOE   TO  CHIPEWVAN 


297 


crosswise  on  top  of  these,  doubling  up  the  dogs  to  a  train 
of  eight. 

The  rain  was  dropping  steadily  when,  on  the  4th,  at 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  started  across  the  lake  to 
the  mouth  of  Buffalo  River,  and  Gaudet,  kind  and  consid- 
erate to  the  last,  went  to  see  me  off.  The  walkincr  was 
exceedingly  disconcerting.  The  ice  on  the  lake  for  the 
greater  part  was  under  water,  sometimes  nearly  up  to  my 
waist,  and  a  great  deal  of  the  time  knee -deep,  and  I 
could  not  know  where  the  next  step  might  land  me.  The 
idea  of  stepping  into  a  hole  and  going  out  of  sight  under 
the  ice  >vas  not  entirely  comforting.  We  finally,  however, 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  river  in  safety,  and  made  ready 
to  start. 

My  party  consisted  of  a  half-breed,  an  Indian,  and 
one  of  the  French  priests  of  the  post,  who  was  very  de- 
sirous of  making  the  trip  to  Chipewyan,  and  perfectly 
willing  to  do  his  share  of  work.  I  was  very  glad  to  have 
a  companion,  to  say  nothing  of  an  extra  man  to  handle 
the  paddle,  for  the  canoe  was  large  and  the  current  very 
swift.  It  did  not  take  long  to  stow  our  provisions  of 
dried  caribou  meat  and  tea,  and  by  one  o'clock  we  set 
off. 

Buffalo  River  is  a  narrow  stream,  which  at  times  widens 
to  possibly  seventy-five  yards,  but  as  a  rule  is  half  that 
width  and  in  many  places  very  much  narrower.  For  the 
most  part  its  banks  are  low  and  lined  with  willows,  backed 
by  smallish  timber.  It  runs  through  the  north  end  of 
the  bison  country,  and  is  said  also  to  be  rather  a  good 
section  for  moose  and  bear.  Other  than  some  fresh  bear 
tracks  we  saw  no  signs,  but  we  did  see  ducks  in  abun- 
dance, and  were  fortunate  enough  to  kill  sufificient  to 
keep  us  fairly  supplied.  We  also  killed  one  or  two 
beavers,  but  their  flesh  is  so  rich  that  more  than  a  couple 


4 


I'l 


I-.' 


Vi 


}' 


298       ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO   THE   BARKEN    GROUNDS 

of  consecutive  meals  rather  palls  on  one.  The  tail  is  a 
much-sought  Indian  delicacy,  and  is  exceedingly  fat. 

For  three  and  a  half  days  we  labored  at  the  paddles, 
starting  at  five  o'clock  and  camping  at  half-past  eight; 
making  two  fires,  one  at  ten  and  one  at  half-past  three; 
paddling  steadily  for  thirteen  and  a  half  hours,  and  mak- 
ing from  thirty-five  to  forty  miles  a  day. 

As  we  worked  our  way  along  bird  life  was  abundant 
on  all  sides.  I  never  saw  a  greater  variety  of  ducks  any- 
where—  mallards  so  huge  I  have  seen  only  in  Califor- 
nia, canvas-backs,  redheads,  spoon-bills,  teals,  and  a  dozen 
other  varieties  I  did  not  know.  Then  there  were  several 
kinds  of  partridges  and  grouse ;  one,  the  willow-partridge, 
is  a  very  handsome  bird,  with  a  black  throat  and  head 
and  scarlet  eyebrows,  and  a  brownish  body  handsomely 
mottled  with  orange.  Another,  the  wood -partridge,  has 
brownish  plumage,  spotted  with  white  and  black;  then 
there  are  a  species  of  the  rough  grouse,  which  we  know  as 
the  fool-hen  ;  and  the  prairie-chicken,  or  the  sharp-tailed 
grouse  of  the  United  States,  which  in  the  North  Country 
is  called  pheasant.  All  these  birds  I  found  were  dryer 
and  not  such  good  eating  as  elsewhere.  And  all  together, 
with  the  large  and  small  ptarmigans,  change  their  plumage 
to  white  in  winter,  though  the  ptarmigans  are  the  only 
ones  to  become  completely  and  absolutely  snow-white. 
There  were  snipe  (larger  of  body  than  those  we  know), 
blackbirds,  robins  (similar  to  ours,  save  with  more  brill- 
iant plumage),  and  another  very  pretty  little  bird  en- 
tirely white,  except  for  brown  wings.  Rabbits  were  plen- 
tiful too,  in  the  midst  of  changing  the  white  winter  coat 
for  the  brown  summer  one,  which  gave  them  a  rather  curi- 
ous appearance ;  and  there  were  squirrels  in  large  num- 
bers that  accompanied  our  paddling  with  their  squeaky 
chatterinsj. 


Ul'-STKKAM    I?V    CANOE   TO   CMIl'EWVAN 


-'99 


It  was  very  hard  paddling,  and  it  was  not  of  that  noise- 
less, gliding  variety  we  are  accustomed  to  associate  with 
the  red  man  afloat.  One  Indian  was  stationed  in  the 
bow,  another  at  the  stern,  and  the  priest  and  I  were 
amidships.  We  took  our  stroke  from  the  bowman, 
which  was  never  less  than  fifty  to  the  minute,  and  some- 
times, when  in  particularly  stif^  water,  ran  up  as  high 
as  sixty.  I  am  positive  in  this  statement,  as  I  timed 
them  by  the  watch.  This  is  the  common  style  of  pad- 
dling among  the  Northland  Indians.     Their  paddles  have 


II 


11 


^ 
U 


SNOW-SHOES    WORN    1!V    THE   AITHOR    IN   THE   BARREN    <;ROr\nS 


a  three- inch  blade,  and  their  stroke  is  simply  a  dig  at 
the  water  accompanied  by  a  great  deal  of  splashing  and 
noise. 

It  rained  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  and  when 
it  did  not  rain  it  turned  cool  enough  to  freeze  the 
water  on  our  paddle-blades.  There  were  patches  of  snow 
all  along  the  banks,  and  it  rather  amused  me  to  observe 
that  now,  in  camping,  we  chose  places  where  the  snow 
was  most  abundant,  whereas  hitherto  I  had  been  search- 
ing for  spots  where  the  snow  was  least.  The  reason  we 
now  sought  snow  was  because  the  Buffalo  River  takes  its 


i 


300      ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO    Till-:   ISAKKEN   GROUNDS 


^: 


rise  near  the  Salt  River,  and  both  in  a  section  of  country 
back  of  Fort  Smith  where  there  is  a  natural  deposit  of 
salt.  Hence  the  water  is  not  fit  to  drink,  and  we  were  de- 
pendent upon  these  snowbanks  for  cooking  and  drinking 
water. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  out  from  Slave  Lake 
the  river  grew  much  narrower  and  more  winding,  and 
at  one  o'clock  we  came  to  the  point  where  we  were  to 
leave  our  canoe  and  make  a  portage  across  to  Salt 
River,  and  thence  along  the  bank  of  Slave  River  to  Fort 
Smith. 

We  arranged  our  luggage  and  provisions  into  packs  to 
average,  I  should  say,  about  sixty  pounds  each,  and  at  two 
o'clock  started  on  our  fifteen-mile  tramp  to  Salt  River. 
Such  walking  I  had  never  experienced,  and  hope  never 
again  to  experience.  Our  way  lay  directly  across  a  succes- 
sion of  swamps  (muskeg).  As  we  stood  on  their  edge  they 
looked  as  harmless  as  submerged  ponds,  with  bunches  of 
grass  showing  every  few  feet,  and  over  all  a  coating  of 
smooth  ice.  But  when  we  launched  upon  that  placid  ex- 
terior we  found  its  deceptions  the  bitterest.  The  ice  was 
not  thick  enough  to  bear  our  weight,  and  was  too  thick  to 
break  without  first  jarring  with  our  feet.  It  was  hard  ice 
and  sharp,  and  when  we  plunged  through  we  went  into 
water  up  to  our  knees  in  some  places  and  a  great  deal 
deeper  in  others.  First  we  cut  our  moccasins  to  shreds, 
and  then  cut  our  feet  until  they  bled.  Between  these  sub- 
merged swamps  were  others  where  there  grew  a  thick  un- 
derbrush between  innumerable  mounds  of  moss  and  mire, 
and  through  these  we  slipped  and  slid  with  one  leg  ankle- 
deep  in  mire  and  the  other  probably  knee-deep,  and  all 
the  time  the  brush  slapped  our  unprotected  faces,  and  the 
sixty  pounds  on  our  backs  dragged  us  deeper  into  the  mire 
or  overbalanced  us  as  we  slid  from  mound  to  mound. 


UI'. STREAM    UV   CANOE   TO  CHII'EWVAN 


30t 


We  had  started  on  this  tramp  at  two  o'clock,  and  when 
we  had  gone  about  four  or  five  miles  it  was  eight  o'clock 
at  night,  and,  utterly  exhausted,  we  threw  down  our  blan- 
kets in  one  of  the  miry  swamps  and  persuaded  ourselves 
we  were  resting. 

We  were  off  by  daylight  the  next  morning,  and  for  five 
miles  more  floundered  through  mud  and  ice,  until  at  noon 
we  came  out  on  Salt  River,  about  a  mile  above  where  it 
empties  into  Great  Slave  River.  Here  we  found  an  en- 
campment of  Indiiins,  and,  as  the  river  was  open,  I  made 
arrangements  with  a  couple  of  them  to  take  our  packs  by 
canoe  to  Fort  Smith,  while  we  went  on  our  twenty-five- 
mile  walk  along  the  bank. 

For  a  while  we  again  encountered  muskeg,  but  after  ten 
or  fifteen  miles  the  walking  became  good,  for  the  country 
immediately  surrounding  Fort  Smith  is  the  highest  in  the 
Northland. 

When  I  reached  Fort  Smith  that  night  I  found  it  in  one 
of  its  periods  of  starvation.  Not  a  bite  of  anything  was  in 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  store,  and  most  of  the  fami- 
lies gone  to  one  of  the  small  rivers  to  catch  enough  fish 
for  daily  subsistence.  I  had  expected  to  find  the  post  in 
such  a  condition,  and  had  therefore  taken  enough  dried 
meat  for  myself  and  Indians  from  Resolution  to  last  to 
Chipewyan.  "  Mc  "  was  off  hunting  meat  for  children  who 
were  crying  from  hunger,  and  the  whole  atmosphere  of 
F'ort  Smith  was  dismal  and  empty. 

When  at  Fort  Smith,  on  my  way  north,  I  had  considered 
the  probabilities  of  an  early  spring  (though  this  one  beat  the 
record  by  two  weeks)  and  of  my  delayed  return,  and  had 
not  expected  to  be  able  to  travel  on  the  ice  farther  south 
than  Fort  Smith  on  my  homeward  journey.  Therefore  I 
had  commissioned  "  Susie  "  Beaulieu  to  build  me  a  skiff, 
because  I  knew  the  ice  and  timber  runninir  in  the  bisi  river 


\i 


* 


302       ON    SNOW-SIIOKS   TO   TlIK    BAKREN    GROUNDS 

would  be  rather  apt  to  punch  holes  faster  than  they  could 
be  repaired  in  a  birch-bark  canoe. 

Now  on  my  arrival  I  could  not  learn  anything  of  my 
boat  or  of  the  condition  of  the  river  at  Smith  Landing, 
Directly  in  front  of  Fort  Smith  the  river  was  still  frozen 


m 

[i;  , 

W%\  '• 

Pp 

Pm 

■i 

|^ii 

I 

i    M 

1 

■    M 

' 

DEAUKALI,    FOR    liKAR 


from  shore  to  shore,  and  the  Indian  who  brought  our  packs 
up  from  Salt  River  had  to  haul  them  over  the  ice  for  a  mile 
or  two. 

Next  morning  I  learned  the  river  was  broken  but  my 
boat  not  begun,  which  was  pleasing  intelligence  to  a  man 
fretting  at  every  delay  and  straining  every  nerve  to  get 
out  of  the  wretched  country.  But  that  night  McKinley 
returned  to  comfort  his  children  with  a  meal  of  fish  and 
soothe  me  by  placing  a  dugout  at  my  disposal. 

Poor  "Mc  "  had  put  in  a  hard  winter,  and  he  showed  it ; 
he  had  made  several  unsuccessful  hunting  trips,  and  this 
time  he  had  been  after  bear,  though  with  no  luck.  Bear 
in  this  country — there  are  no  grizzly — are  caught  by  the 
Indians  in  traps,  but  McKinley  hunts  with  dogs,  and  fort- 
une usually  favors  him,  for  he  has  200  to  his  credit,  and  is 
a  noted  hunter. 

The  next  morning  one  of  the  oxen  used  in  transporting 


UP-STREAM   BY   CANOE    TO  CIIII'EWVAN 


303 


the  Hudson's  Hay  Company  stuff  from  the  handing  to 
the  fort  was  pressed  into  service,  and  a  cart  started  off 
with  my  luggage  for  the  landing  in  care  of  VViUiam.  the 
full-blooded  Loucheux,  of  whom  I  have  spoken  as  being 
so  clever  in  carving  with  the  "crooked  knife." 

I  did  not  start  until  one  o'clock,  as  iMcKinlcy  was  to 
loan  me  his  bronco.  Fort  Smith  and  the  landing  are  the 
only  places  in  the  country  north  of  I>a  liiche  where  the 
luxury  of  horses  is  indulged,  or  indeed  where  they  can 
be  used  ;  for  in  all  this  vast  Northland  there  is  no  over- 
land travel  except  on  the  portage  at  Fort  Smith.  Water- 
courses are  the  highways  of  the  country  for  canoes  in 
summer  and  for  snow-shoes  and  sledges  in  winter. 

My  ride  across  the  portage  on  McKinley's  bronco  was 
the  first  bit  of  leisurely  travelling  I  had  had.  I  knew 
the  ox-cart  would  not  arrive  until  that  night,  and  that  I 
should  not  be  able  to  leave  the  landing  until  the  follow- 
ing morning.  So  I  let  the  horse  take  his  gait,  while  I  fell 
into  a  reminiscent  mood. 

The  last  time  I  had  crossed  that  portage  was  on 
niy  return  from  the  disappointing 
bison  hunt,  when  hunger  and  a 
knowledge  that  McKinley  had 
moose  meat  gave  speed  to  Munn 
and  me.  Then  the  ground  was 
covered  with  snow,  and  the  river 
a  great,  white,  frozen  streak ;  not  a 
sound  in  the  woods  of  animal  life 
save  the  occasional  whir  of  a  startled 
ptarmigan.  Then  the  wonderful 
northern  lights  showed  me  the 
trail.     Now  the  sun  shone  down  so 

warmly  that  I  threw  off  my  capote.     All  the  snow  was 
gone,  and  in  its  place  were  water  and  mud.     Now  all  the 


t-.;,  .. 


DIAGRAM    OK    liKAR-lKAl' 


a 


. 


I  I 


304     ON  snow-shoes  to  thk  harken  grounds 

trees  were  budding.  The  ptarmigan  had  doffed  his  winter 
plumage  for  the  more  sombre  one  of  summer.  Birds  were 
chirping,  frogs  were  croaking  in  the  water-holes,  and  the 
river  was  a  great  rushing  stream,  carrying  the  ice  rapidly 


MY    I.Ur.OACiK   F.S  KOVTI-:   KRDM    VOKV    SMI'llI     TO   THE   LANIllNi: 
One  of  the  Transport  Outfits  and  William  the  Interpreter,  a  Full-blooded  Loucheaiix  Indian 


away  or  piling  it  into  huge  masses  along  the  banks.  Spring- 
was  in  evidence  on  every  side.  And  it  was  all  so  very 
strange  and  pleasing — so  hard  to  realize  that  such  an 
utter  transformation  had  been  enacted  in  my  absence. 

I  got  off  my  horse  and  stretched  out  on  the  high  river- 
bank  and  smoked  my  pipe  in  the  contentment  given  by 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  my  Barren  Grounds  trip  was 
completed,  and  that  I  had  accomplished  what  I  had  been 
told  I  could  not. 

At  about  five  o'clock  I  rode  into  the  landing  to  find 
the  dugout  a  heavy  one,  thirty  feet  long  by  two  feet 
eight  inches  wide  amidships,  but  of  excellent  shape  for  up- 
current  work  against  the  banging  of  ice  and   for  "  track- 


UP  STRKAM    UV    CANOE   TO  CllIl'ENVVAN 


305 


ing."  It  was  a  much  better  boat  than  Heauh'eu  could 
have  built,  and  I  was  disposed  to  forgive  his  neglect. 

It  rained  all  that  night,  but  the  next  morning  opened 
clear,  and  we  finally  got  under  way  at  eight  o'clock.  1  had 
endeavored  to  get  started  at  four,  but  though  we  were  all 
up  and  doing  at  that  hour,  it  was  impossible  to  get  the 
men  into  the  canoe.  It  is  always  so;  nothing  is  so  diffi- 
cult as  to  get  the  half-breeds  away  from  a  post  at  an  early 
hour,  no  matter  what  time  preparations  are  begun  ;  there 
is  always  so  much  hand-shaking  and  other  ceremony  pre- 
liminary to  starting  on  a  trip. 

The  current  of  Slave  River  was  not  nearly  so  swift  as 
that  of  Buffalo  River,  but  it  was  swift  enough  to  make 
paddling  with  a  heavy  dugout,  despite  its  narrow  beam, 
exceedingly  hard  work. 

I  found,  after  I  got  started,  my  men  were  not  very 
capable.  Their  experience  had  evidently  been  limited, 
for  they  knew  little  of  camping. 

We  were  not  very  fortunate  in  weather,  encountering 
head-winds  nearly  the  entire  distance.  Once  for  part  of  a 
day  we  had  a  fair  wind,  and  then  we  rigged  up  a  pole  anil 
spread  a  blanket  on  it  that  helped  us  along  considerably. 
Several  times  we  came  very  near  being  swamped  in  pass- 
ing under  the  huge,  overhanging  banks  of  ice  that  some- 
times broke  off  uncomfortably  near  us.  Had  one  broken 
off  just  as  we  were  underneath,  wc  should  very  likely  have 
heard  "  something  drop."  At  other  times  we  were  nearly 
swamped  by  the  rough  water,  as  our  dugout  had  not  over 
six  inches  of  free-board  ;  frequently  also  we  were  kept 
busy  bailing.  As  it  was,  I  had  everything  tied  to  the 
crossbars,  so  that  in  case  we  upset  I  should  not  lose  the 
trinkets  of  the  country  and  my  camera-plates  I  was  bring- 
ing out  to  illustrate  this  book. 

We  encountered  floating  trees  and  a  good  bit  of  ice 
so 


"  1 


306     ()\  s\()\v.sn(ii:s  to  tiik  haukf.x  ckounds 


1  \ 


that  made  navigation  at  times  somewhat  hazardous  \Vc 
made  very  lon^  days,  and  at  three  o'clock  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  th'id  day  out  from  tlie  landing  readied  Athabasca 
Lake.  Mere  we  found  low  water  and  a  great  deal  of  ice, 
and  were  compelled  to  make  a  long  dd'tour,  which  brought 
us  to  a  point  three  miles  from  the  post,  where  the  ice  was 
solid,  and  we  were  obliged  to  leave  our  canoe  and  pack 


t; 


olcmvna-. 


UNDKR    SAIL 


our  luggage  to  the  fort.  They  had  told  me  at  the  landing 
it  was  a  four-day  trip,  but  I  had  promised  a  pipe  to  each 
of  the  Indians  if  we  made  it  in  less,  so  we  all  worked  like 
galley-slaves,  and  did  it  in  three.  Just  how  far  it  is  I 
cannot  say.  On  snow-shoes  you  cut  the  points  and  go 
straight,  and  it  is  102  miles  from  Chipewyan  to  the  land- 


P 


rr-STKKAM    UY   CANOK   TO   CHIl'EWYAN 


307 


Ing,  but  in  a  canoe  and  up-stream  at  such  a  time  of  year 
you  must  follow  around  every  bend  of  the  river  and 
go  many  miles  farther,  llow  many,  I  know  not.  I  only 
know  the  Indians  earned  their  pipes,  and  we  were  all  very 
tired,  and  satisfied  we  had  made  a  rapid  trip. 


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XXVII 
FROM   CHIPEWVAN   To  THE    RAILROAD 

For  the  second  time  on  my  trip  luck  attended  me.  It 
was  Wednesday,  the  1 5th  of  Ma}',  when  I  reached  Chip- 
ewyan,  and  Dr,  Mackay  informed  me  a  flatboat  was  to 
start  for  McMurray  on  Friday. 

Every  spring,  so  soon  as  the  river  opens,  a  sturgeon-head 
boat,  which  is  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  long  and  from  ten 
to  twelve  feet  wide   amidships,  is   sent  out   from   Chip- 

cwyan  with  the  fur  "  packs" 
and  tlie  men  who  work  on 
=^  the  transport  at  Grand  Rap- 
ids, an  island  whence  the  daf- 
fiw,  as  it  is  also  called,  is 
rowed,  where  the  river-banks 
arc  too  precipitous  to  per- 
mit walking,  and  "  tracked  " 
where  footing  is  to  be  had. 

This  "tracking"  is  a  meth- 
od of  progression  after  the 
manner  of  canal-boat  locomotion.  There  is  a  similar  long 
rope,  and  it  is  fastened  to  the  battue  and  thence  to  the 
chest  of  the  draught  animal,  and  the  pace  is  slow — only  Ind- 
ians in  gangs  are  used  instead  of  mules.  This  battue  carries 
the  fur  •viA  McMurray  to  Grand  Rapids,  ninety  miles  be- 
yond, where  it  meets  the  Hudson's  liay  Company  steamer, 
which  lands  three  miles  north  of  the  island.    The  steamer 


A    HUDSON  S   BAY   COMPANY 

Fl'R    "  I'ACK  " 


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FROM   CniPEWYAN   TO  THE   RAII.UOAD 


3" 


delivers  its  goods,  that  arc  then  taken  by  boat  down  to  the 
islands,  transferred  its  length  (three-fourths  of  a  mile)  on  a 
tramway,  and  loaded  into  the  battues,  and  taken  on  down  to 
McMurray.  At  McMurray  another  company  steamer,  the 
Grahainc,  takes  the  goods  to  Smith  Landing  vid  Chipe- 
wyan.  Here  they  are  transported  by  ox-carts  across  the 
portage  to  Fort  Smith.  At  Fort  Smith  they  are  loaded  on 
to  another  steamer,  which  distributes  them  to  Fort  Resolu- 
tion, Fort  Rae,  and  the  Mackenzie  River  posts,  Fort  Simp- 
son, Fort  Goodhope,  and  Fort  McPherson,  on  Peels  River, 
which  is  the  most  northerly  post,  being  1800  miles  from 
Edmonton  and  about  100  miles  from  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

I  could  have  made  quicker  time  by  canoe  to  McMurray 
had  I  been  able  to  hire  men  ;  but  this  was  impossible, 
as  they  were  all  employed  on  the  flat  boats.  Even  had 
I  gone  by  canoe  all  the  way  to  the  island  at  Grand 
Rapids  and  thence  to  Athabasca  Landing,  I  should  not 
on  the  whole  have  gained  more  than  a  couple  of  days ; 
whereas  by  going  with  the  flatboats  and  meeting  the 
steamer  at  the  island,  I  should  avoid  all  the  annoyance 
of  hiring  Indians  and  the  hard  work  of  paddling,  so  I 
considered  myself  in  luck  to  have  reached  Chipewyan  so 
opportunely.  The  two  days  at  Chipewyan  I  spent  writing 
up  my  journal  and  growing  fat  on  wild  geese  and  ducks, 
with  which  Dr.  Mackay's  table  was  well  served. 

Chipewyan  is  the  great  duck  and  goose  hunting-post  of 
the  country.  Between  May  ist  and  15th  great  flocks  are 
going  north,  which  return  again  between  September  15th 
and  October  1st  to  15th,  and  during  those  periods  their 
numbers  are  legion.  There  are  all  the  varieties  of  ducks 
I  have  already  named  and  many  more  I  do  not  know ; 
there  are  four  kinds  of  geese  :  the  "  honker,"  or  Canadian 
gray  goose ;  a  smaller  gray  goose ;  a  large  white  goose, 
not  quite  so  large  as  the  "  honker ;"    and  a  smaller  white 


a, 

An    ' 


V 


1^ 


312        ON   SNOW-SHOES   TO   THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 

goose.  Swans  arc  also  to  be  seen,  but  very  rarely  shot, 
as  they  fly  so  high  and  fast.  One  had  been  killed,  how- 
ever, shortly  before  my  arrival  which  weighed  twenty-five 
pounds,  dravn  and  without  wings.  Another  of  the  bird 
family  in  which  Chipewyan  abounds  is  the  loon,  of  which 
there  are  four  different  varieties  on  Lake  Athabasca — all 
of  very  attractive  plumage,  from  which  the  Indians  make 
handsome  hunting-bags. 

Everybody  in  Chipewyan  was  much  interested  in  my 
trip  to  the  Barren  Grounds  and  its  success,  and  Bishop 
Grouard  and  Dr.  Mackay  wanted  to  give  me  an  afifidavit 
of  my  having  actually  made  it,  because,  as  they  said, 
people  might  not  credit  it,  and  they  themselves  would  not 
have  believed  it  had  they  not  positive  knowledge  of  its 
accomplishment.  I  told  them,  however,  I  thought  my 
word  good  with  the  American  public,  and  if  I  flattered 
myself  in  that  belief  my  camera  was  a  witness  that  could 
not  be  denied. 

I  saw  more  of  post  life  at  this  time  than  in  going  North, 
and  realized  how  very  far  out  of  the  world  these  people 
really  are.  Life  at  the  post  varies  but  little  from  one 
end  of  the  year  to  the  other.  In  winter  the  topic  of  con- 
versation is  fur  and  dogs  and  snow-shoes  and  caribou ;  in 
summer  it  is  boating  and  fish'ng. 

The  da)''  after  I  arrived  Ciptain  Segars,  who  commanded 
the  Grahamc  (which  he  expected  to  float  by  June  15th), 
and  H.  S.  Malterner  worked  their  way  through  the  ice, 
arriving  from  McMurray.  Malterner  is  an  American  who 
the  year  before  had  made  an  attempt  to  get  into  the 
Barren  Grounds.  He  informed  me  he  did  not  propose 
to  make  another,  having  had  enough  of  it  then,  but  in- 
tended going  down  the  Mackenzie  River  in  his  canoe. 
I  have  since  learned  he  succeeded,  and  came  back  on  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  steamer. 


fsm 


FROM    CHIPKWVAN    TO    THE    RAILROAD 


313 


There  was  a  dance  that  evening  as  a  farewell  spree  for 
the  men  who  were  going  out  in  boats,  and  the  next  morn- 
'"g»  against  a  very  strong  head -wind,  we  started.  The 
wind  had  blown  so  hard  all  night  that  it  had  cleared  the 
lake  of  ice  directly  in  front  of  the  post,  but  the  water  was 
so  rough  and  the  wind  so  strong  the  men  could  barely 
keep  the  boat  moving  with  their  huge  fifteen-foot  sweeps. 
For  several  hours  they  worked  diligently  until  we  got 
around  an  island  (Potato  Island),  directly  opposite  Chip- 
ewyan,  and  here  we  camped,  for  it  seemed  impossible  to 
cross  the  lake  that  day.  This  is  the  island,  by-the-way, 
where  in  the  earliest  days  of  fur- trading  the  Northwest 
Company  had  its  headquarters. 

When  we  landed  we  found  about  all  the  women  from 
the  post  cutting  and  drying  the  fish,  which  were  running 
in  unusually  large  numbers  because  of  the  early  spring 
and  low  water  that  had  driven  them  into  narrowed  chan- 
nels. The  greater  part  of  the  island  was  covered  by  stag- 
ings raised  to  about  six  feet,  on  which  the  fish  were  hung 
as  rapidly  as  cut  in  half  and  relieved  of  their  backbones  by 
the  squaws.  As  I  watched  the  quantities  of  fish  dumped 
before  these  women,  who  could  not  handle  them  as  rap- 
idly as  they  were  brought  in  by  the  boats,  I  wondered 
again  at  the  improvidence  of  this  people  that  pass  a  good 
half  of  their  lives  in  starvation.  Instead  of  putting  more 
women  at  work,  they  let  what  fish  the  few  women  coul'^ 
not  attend  to  rot  in  the  sun. 

The  men  set  the  nets,  which  are  about  forty  fathoms 
long  by  three  feet  deep,  and  haul  the  fish  ashore,  where  the 
squaws  do  the  rest. 

The  women  get  one  "  skin  "  for  every  fifty  fish  dried,  or 
a  "  skin  "  for  forty  white-fish,  as  these  have  scales  which 
must  be  removed.  The  white-fish  are  prepared  for  eat- 
ing, while  the  jack-fish  and  others  are  dried  for  the  dogs. 


314       ON   SXOWSIIOI.S   TO   THK    I'.AUUKN    (lUOUNDS 


M     I 


which  at  this  season  enjoy  a  short  lioh'day.     A  woman  can 

handle  about  two  hundred  fish  a  day  by  steady,  quick  work. 

We  were  not  the  only  arrivals  at  the  island,  for  many  a 

canoe  blew  in  loaded  with  Indians  and  their  families  and 

goods  and  chattels  on  the 
way  to  the  post  for  the  spring 
trade.  Again  I  witnessed  ev- 
idence of  woman  being  the 
country's  beast  of  burden. 
The  men  on  landing  went  off 
to  join  other  men  in  smoking 
their  pipes,  while  the  women, 
loaded  down  like  pack-mules, 
"^^^^    .rti'^''*'  .*"         climbed  the  steep  and  rocky 

banks,  and  pitched  the  lodges 
and  lighted  the  fires  and 
cooked  the  suppers  for  their 
luxuriant  lords  and  masters. 
1  noticed  one  Indian  woman 
toiling  up  the  bank  with  a  baby  slung  on  her  back  in  ad- 
dition to  her  pack. 

The  storm  from  which  we  had  sought  refuge  increased 
that  night,  and  it  was  Sunday  before  we  .again  got  under 
way,  and  Sunday  night  when  we  had  finally  crossed  the 
lake  and  gotten  into  ..Vthabasca  River. 

Six  days  of  hard  work  brought  us  to  another  Sunday 
and  to  Red  River,  thirty-five  miles  from  McMurray,  where 
the  men  were  to  rest  a  day,  for  the  way  had  been  long  and 
the  work  steady  from  five  in  the  morning  until  half  after 
seven,  and,  often,  much  later.  Once  in  a  while  we  had 
been  favored  with  wind  and  had  sailed,  and  sometimes,  when 
the  banks  would  permit  of  it,  the  boat  had  been  "tracked." 
Hut  I  did  not  care  to  lay  in  camp  at  Red  River  with 
McMurray  only  thirty-five  miles  away,  and  offered  Fran- 


GRIZZLY-CI.AW    NKCKI.ACI'. 


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FROM   CHIPEWVAN   TO   THE    RAILROAD 


317 


^ois  (my  old  dog-driver)  four  skins  to  walk  on  with  me  to 
McMurray. 

There  were  quite  a  number  of  old  friends  in  the  boat's 
crew,  by-the-way.  Besides  Frangois  there  was  his  brother 
William,  who  had  given  me  my  one  day's  cariole  ride  from 
Chipewyan;  and  there  was  "old  Jacob," who  had  run  be- 
fore the  dogs  from  McMurray  to  Chipewyan,  and  was 
now  our  steersman,  and  a  good  one,  too ;  and  there  was 
Kipling,  who,  when  John  and  I  were  lost  on  Jack -fish 
Lake,  had  brought  me  the  welcome  tidings  of  Spencer's 
whereabouts, 

Fran9ois  and  I  started  out  at  about  nine  o'clock,  and 
after  very  hard  walking,  for  the  bank  in  many  places  was 
covered  with  brush  and  in  other  places  strewn  with  rocks, 
we  stopped  for  a  spell  opposite  an  island  Francois  said 
was  much  over  half-way. 

Here  as  we  sat  smoking  we  sighted  the  f^atboats  of 
Nagel,  a  white  free  trader  at  Slave  Lake,  coming  down 
the  river  in  full  sail  before  a  very  strong  wind.  As  Nagel 
approached  he  saluted  us  and  I  replied.  Instantly  he 
shouted  : 

"  Hello,  you  are  Whitney  ?" 

"  Yes,"  responded  L 

"  They  are  getting  worried  about  you  at  Edmonton," 
he  continued.     "  They  are  organizing  a  search  party." 

To  which  I  replied :  "  I  hope  to  get  there  before  thc}- 
are  started." 

Meanwhile  his  boat  was  sailing  rapidly  from  us  as  he 
queried  :  *'  Were  you  successful  ?" 

"Yes,"  said  I,  happily. 

And  thus  I  had  one  of  my  few  opportunities  of  speech 
in  the  mother-tongue,  and  received  the  first  tidings  from 
civilization. 

We  came  to  Stony  Island,  eight  miles  from  McMurray, 


:\ 


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318       ON    SNOW-SIIOKS   TO    llli;    liAKRKN    GROUNDS 

at  seven  o'clock,  and  hired  a  canoe  of  the  Indians  I  found 
there,  reaching  McMurray  at  11.30.  Spencer  and  his  wife 
had  retired,  but  were  glad  to  see  ine,  and  I  was  glad  to 
see  them,  for  I  remembered  McMurray  as  the  place  where 
I  had  slept  in  a  comfortable  bed  and  had  had  abundant 
water  for  washing.  They  were  just  as  kind  to  me  now 
as  they  had  been  when  I  went  in,  and  seemed  to  rejoice 
as  much  as  I  over  my  success. 

Frangois  and  I  were  both  very  tired,  for,  following  the 
devious  banks,  we  must  have  covered  forty-five  miles,  and 
the  walking  had  been  of  the  hardest. 

A  strong  wind  favored  the  ilatboats  the  next  day,  and 
they  arrived  in  the  evening  at  six  o'clock.  Here  the  men 
were  divided  into  gangs,  and  we  started  the  following  day 
on  our  ninety  miles  to  the  island  at  Grand  Rapids  with  two 
flatboats. 

The  entire  ninety  miles  is  one  succession  of  rapids  so 
strong  that  at  all  times  the  boat  is  "  tracked,"  and  at  some 
of  the  swiftest  the  gangs  are  doubled  up  on  to  one  boat, 
and  the  tracking-rope,  ordinarily  about  the  size  of  a  clothes- 
line, is  replaced  by  one  an  inch  in  diameter. 

It  had  rained  almost  constantly,  and  the  walking  (for  I 
rarely  rode  except  when  we  sailed,  and  there  was  no  sailing 
on  this  stage  of  the  journey)  was  hard,  unpleasant  work. 
Many  times  we  saw  bear  tracks,  and  twice  viewed  the 
bear,  which  had  been  scared  by  the  noise  the  Indians 
made  with  their  shouting  and  singing.  Once  we  were 
fortunate  enough  to  kill  two  moose,  which  gave  us  some 
fresh  meat,  although  it  was  so  unpalatable  that  neither 
Spencer  nor  I  cared  for  it. 

Six  days  of  this  hard  tramping  brought  us,  on  Sunday, 
June  2d,  to  Gas  Spring,  which  is  rather  a  remarkable  freak 
of  nature.  There  is  a  spot  at  the  water's  edge  about  three 
feet  in  diameter  where  natural  gas  is  constantly  escaping, 


•v3wtjMtH3b»*n— gfiwgfca 


T 


FROM    CIIII'KWYAN    TO   TIIK    KAILRUAD 


321 


and  at  one  place  where  it  comes  out  of  the  bank  it  may 
be  lij^hted,  and  will  burn  a  steady  flame,  of  such  size 
that  it  serves  travellers  very  frequently  for  boiling  a 
kettle. 

Here  we  lay  all  day,  and  in  the  afternoon  some  of  the 
Indians  crossed  the  river,  and,  on  one  of  the  highest  points, 
made  two  "  lop,"  "lob,"  or  "  nob"  sticks,  as  they  are  vari- 
ously called,  in  honor  of  Spencer  and  myself.  The  "  lop 
stick  "  is  always  made  on  a  very  high  point  of  ground,  and 
stands  as  a  kind  of  traveller's  guide-post  in  this  wilderness 
A  prominent  pine-tree  being  selected,  the  Indian  climbs  to 
within  eight  or  ten  feet  of  its  top,  where  he  begins  to  lop 
off  all  the  branches,  and  continues  to  within  six  or  eight 
feet  of  the  bottom  of  the  tree,  thus  h  iving  surmounted 
upon  the  bare  trunk  a  nob  of  green  that  may  be  seen  a  long 
way  off. 

When  the  Indians  had  returned  from  making  the  "lop 
sticks,"  the  ceremony  of  dedic  ting  them  began.  This 
consisted  of  calling  several  times  upon  the  names  of  those 
in  whose  honor  they  had  been  cut,  and  finally  ending  the 
performance  by  a  salute  from  the  guns. 

Two  days  later,  at  4.30  in  the  afternoon,  we  reached 
the  island  at  Grand  Rapids.  These  Grand  Rapids  are 
well  named.  They  are  indeed  a  grand  sight ;  about  one 
mile  in  length,  half  a  mile  in  width,  and  divided  into  two 
channels  by  the  island,  they  roar  like  a  Niagara,  and  are 
so  turbulent  no  boat  could  live  on  their  surface.  We  were 
making  camp  on  the  island  when  suddenly  I  heard  a  long, 
loud  whistle  which  sounded  like  a  steamer,  but  smote  upon 
my  ears  strangely,  because  I  could  not  believe  myself  so 
near  civilization,  until  Spencer,  who  detected  my  conster- 
nation, said  the  steamer  had  arrived. 

The  next  three  days  were  spent  in  unloading  the  steamer 
and  bringing  its  supplies  down  to  the  island  in  flatboats, 


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! 

;  i 


322       ON   SNOW-SHOES  TO   THE   BARREN   GROUNDS 

and  on  June  7th  the  cargo  had  been  transferred  and  I  went 
on  board.  The  first  person  to  greet  me  was  Mr.  Livock, 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officer  who  had  been  so  kind 
to  me  at  Edmonton,  and  who  was  now  in  charge  of  the  boat. 
And  the  very  next  was  my  one-time  guide  "  Shot,"  whom 
I  had  long  since  forgiven  for  the  annoyance  he  gave  me. 
"  Shot  "  was  the  pilot  of  the  boat,  and  is,  by-the  vvay,  not 
only  one  of  the  very  best,  but  about  the  only  one  who  can 
successfully  take  the  steamer  from  the  landing  to  the 
island,  for  the  river  is  very  wide  and  low,  and  the  channel 
winds  among  formidable  bowlders. 

The  next  morning  we  started,  and  on  the  morning  of  the 
fourth  day,  June  I  ith,  after  making  several  stops  for  wood, 
and  tying  up  every  night  at  dark,  we  arrived  at  Athabasca 
Landing  at  10.30. 

I  immediately  set  out  to  engage  transportation  to  Ed- 
monton, which  is  ninety  miles  away,  and  finally  secured 
a  half-breed,  a  pair  of  horses,  and  a  light  freight-wagon. 
We  started  at  one  o'clock  on  that  day  and  travelled 
until  midnight,  for  I  was  very  anxious  to  get  to  Ed- 
monton by  the  next  night  in  order  to  catch  the  semi- 
weekly  train  to  Calgary.  The  following  morning  we 
started  at  four  o'clock,  and  that  afternoon  at  five  a  tele- 
graph-pole and  wires,  the  first  signs  of  civilization,  greet- 
ed mc. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  my  feelings  when  I  first 
viewed  those  telegraph-wires.  The  realization  that  my 
long  trip  was  really  at  an  end,  and  that  here  I  was  once 
more  in  touch  with  the  world,  was  too  overwhelming  to 
transcribe  on  paper. 

Ten  minutes  later  I  was  in  the  Queen's  Hotel,  shaking 
hands  with  everybody  at  once,  and  deeply  grateful  that 
my  trip  of  2800  miles  had  come  to  an  end. 


}l 


JNDS 


and  I  went 
Ir.  Livock, 
en  so  kind 
)f  the  boat, 
ot,"  whom 
gave  me. 
e  way,  not 
le  who  can 
ig  to  the 
le  channel 

ling  of  the 

for  wood, 

\thabasca 

)n  to  Ed- 
y  secured 
ht-wagon. 
travelled 
t  to  Ed- 
the  semi- 
rning  we 
^e  a  tele- 
3n,  greet- 

en  I  first 
that  my 
was  once 
Iming  to 

,  shaking 
;ful  that 


ITINERARY 


Dec. 

20,    i8g4. 

" 

27.       '■ 

.« 

29.       " 

'* 

31,       " 

Jan. 

4.    1895. 

" 

14.      " 

" 

iG,      " 

" 

22,      •' 

" 

24.      " 

4  1 

27.      " 

F«b. 

I.      " 

i  ( 

15,      " 

" 

19.      " 

H 

23.      " 

Marc 

h  8,      " 

4  1 

23.      " 

Apri 

5.      " 

4  t 

16,      ■' 

t  1 

29.      " 

May 

4.       " 

- 

9.      " 

It 

II,      " 

'• 

II, 

*' 

12, 

** 

14.      " 

t  ( 

17.      " 

M 

26,      '• 

(« 

28,      " 

June      3.      *' 

*' 

8,      ■' 

( ( 

II,      " 

•» 

II,      " 

it 

12, 

t  1 

18,      " 

Left  New  York  by  rail. 
Arrived  Edmonton,  frontier. 
Left  Edmonton. 
Arrived  Lac  La  Biche    .     .     . 
Left  Lac  La  Biche. 
Arrived  Fort  McMurray     .     . 
Left  Fort  McMurray     .     .     . 
Arrived  I  ort  Chipewyan     .     . 
Left  Fort  Chipewyan     .     .     . 
Arrived  Fori  Smith  .... 
Left  Fort  Smith  for  bison  hunt. 
Returned  to  Fort  Smith     .     , 
Left  Fort  Smith    .... 
Arrived  Great  Slave  Lake  . 
Left  Great  Slave  Lake  for  Bar- 
ren Grounds     

Arrived  at  "last  wood"  .  .  265  m. 
Reached  most  northerly  point.  210  ni. 
Returned  to  "  last  wood".  .  240  m. 
Returned  to  Great  Slave  Lake  345  m. 
Left  Great  Slave  lake  vid  Buf- 
falo River 

Arrived  Fort  Smith    .     .     . 
Left  Fort  Smith. 
Arrived  Smith  Landing  .     . 
Left  Smith  Landing. 
Arrived  Fort  Chipewyan    . 
Left  Chipewyan. 
Arrived  Fort  McMurray    . 
Left  Fort  McMurray. 
Arrived  Grand  Rapids  .     . 
Left  Grand  Rapids. 
Arrived  Athabasca  Landing 
Left  Athabasca  Landing. 
Arrived  Edmonton  .     .      . 
Arrived  in  New  York. 


170  m.  by  sleigh  and  horses. 

240  ni.  on  snow-shoes. 

185  m. 

118  m.  " 

200  m.  " 

170  m.  " 


175  ni.  by  canoe. 
16  m.  by  horse. 


185 


90 


by  canoe. 

/latlitf  and  wflking- 


by  steamer. 

90  m.   by  wagon. 


1 


f 


'»''      N 


I  n 


u 


324  ITINERARY 

R&SUMt 

On  snow-shoes 1^73  ^.u^^ 

By  canoe 277  " 

By  ^^aZ/rtd"  and  walking 275  " 

By  horse 276  ' ' 

Total  miles 2801 


m  I 


\'^'-- 


1973  miles 
277     " 

275  " 

276  " 

2801 


